Preamble
by KBecks87
Summary: Bellamy and Octavia meet Clarke on the Ark. This is the story of them meeting and knowing one another on the Ark and how much that will change their lives. Bellark. Now Complete.
1. Prologue

Summary: Bellamy and Octavia meet Clarke on The Ark. How does this change their lives? Bellark. WIP.

I don't own anything you'd be interested in…

This is a WIP that I have pretty much finished. I am posting chapters as I edit them, so I can promise that this fic will be finished. No beta, so all mistakes are mine. I have never written anything this long before, and I normally hate AUs – but I got the idea for this and it just kind of ran away from me. Hope you like it!

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Chapter One: Prologue

Clarke closes the suture on the man who was injured working on Mecha Station. She smiles broadly – she's never been able to do a surgery from start to finish by herself before, and she feels amazingly accomplished as she peels off her gloves and tosses them on the table off to the side. "Great job, Clarke" she hears behind her, recognizing her mother's voice. Her smiles fades until her mouth is set in a firm line and she turns to face her.

"Thanks" She says with a nod. "I'm going to clean up and head out" she says with a glance at the clock – her shift ended a couple of hours ago. Her mother nods back, clearly disappointed in their exchange. She'd made a deal with her mother, and she fulfilled it every day, but that deal didn't include a chipper attitude.

Clarke goes into the employee area of the medical center and throws her smock in the 'dirty' bin and washes her hands before heading out. She stops by the cafeteria and grabs a banana – fresh fruit only being available on Alpha Station – before making the long walk to Factory Station.

Generally speaking, people are not encouraged to roam freely on the Ark – there was no actual rule against it, and as far as Clarke knew you couldn't be floated for wandering around. But, if you ran into a guard on a station you didn't live on, you should be prepared to explain yourself. However, whatever her issues with her mother are, being Abby Griffin's daughter, had its occasional up sides – one being that unless she was doing something absolutely aggresses, no one was going to question her.

She jumps over the rusted-out stair under the sign that advises her that she is entering Factory Station and comes to the door she's looking for. She pushes the key in the lock and throws her body weight against it as she turns the key – the door has never been easy to open. "You home?" She shouts setting her banana on the kitchen table.

All Ark pods are identically formatted – four rooms; two bed rooms (one for the parents and one for the child) a bathroom, and a common room (a kitchenette that bleeds into a living room) – identical except for their vastly different sizes. The entire pods in Factory Station, for example, could fit in the common room on Alpha Station. In Alpha Station, the common area is large enough that they fit a kitchen table by the kitchenette as well a sofa, love seat, and a chair in front of a large coffee table and a television. You could never fit that here; they were lucky to get a table that folded down from the wall, a beat-up sofa, and a small coffee table in the common room here.

She walks to what is intended to be the child's room, they use it as her room, and sheds her jacket, throwing it on the bed before grabbing a hair tie out of the drawer and pulling her shoulder-length hair into a pony tail. She wants to take a shower, but water use is limited all over the Ark and Alpha is allotted more than Factory, so she'll do that later so he has water to use later. Instead she washes her face in the sink in the bathroom and sighs. She's walking back to the common room as the door opens. "Hey"

"Hey" Avery says, glancing up at her while hanging his keys on the wall by hers.

"You look disgusting" she says. He rolls his eyes even though it's true – he's covered in grease and dirt. She's glad she saved the water for him. She goes to the table and grabs the banana, smiles when his eyes widen, peels it and breaks it in half. She hands him half and smiles at the way it takes him forever to eat it, relishing every bite.

He catches her amusement, "Hey, not everyone has constant access to fresh foods" he says around a bite chuckling when her head dips and she blushes – her status, perceived or otherwise, always managing to embarrass her. "I'm gonna shower" he says, finishing his piece and pushing past her.

"Good" she tosses back, moving to sit on the couch. She pulls out her tablet and calls up a movie that she knows he wants to see. She presses play when he comes out and plops next to her.

When the movie ends, he stands, "I _volunteered_ to go in early tomorrow – I'm going to get to sleep" he says, putting air quotes around 'volunteered'.

"Alright – I'm headed out then" she said absently pointing at the door. His eyebrows draw together in confusion, "I'm outta clean clothes" she says, even those on Alpha Station only have less than a dozen changes of clothes, and spreading them between two living stations is difficult. He nods a little, "Besides, I haven't been home in a while" she adds, part of the deal she made with her mother was that she'd sleep at home 'occasionally' – she's been doing that less and less recently, but her mother hasn't pushed it.

"Ah" he says, nodding. "Later" he adds as she pulls her keys off the wall.

She departs with a half wave, pulling the door shut as she steps into the hallway. About four doors down a boy, about her age wearing a Cadet's uniform, is stepping into the hallway as well. She walks past him to get to the stairs and the hallway that will lead her back to Alpha. His eyebrows knit together as she passes and his voice stops her, "Is this your station?"

"Sortta" she answers, tilting her head to the side before she smiles then turns, continuing on her way. He doesn't say anything else, just walks the other direction and she makes her way back to Alpha.

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	2. Discovery

Chapter Two: Discovery

Having one foot in the world of Alpha and one foot in the world of Factory is an odd juxtaposition; a way of living that took some getting used to, though she likes to think she has a pretty good handle on it now. She'd been so angry when she found out that her mother had gotten her father floated that she'd wanted to just leave – but she loved what she was doing with her medical apprenticeship and hadn't wanted to just walk away. And part of her though that if she stayed she'd be able to figure out what exactly her father had been into that had caused so much trouble (though she hadn't been able to yet).

She has a life and friends on Alpha, and didn't want to walk away from all of that. And, if she's being honest, she knows that living on Alpha affords her certain luxuries and opportunities and she would not get if she lived on Factory. Avery grew up on Alpha, but when he had to escape his father, Factory was all he could afford, so he left his engineering apprenticeship and went to work and live on Factory – now he's spoken about like a cautionary tale. Something you tell children to keep them in line.

So instead of leaving, she made a deal with her mother. She'd stand next to Council Woman Griffin when public appearances called for it (Avery called it 'kissing the ring') and act, for the outside world, like all was fine. Additionally, she'd sleep at home on Alpha every-so-often and continue her medical apprenticeship. In exchange, she lived with relative freedom. It was not ideal, but it was working so far.

Clarke checks out of medical with a wave to the admittance clerk at the front desk, "Have a nice couple of days off, Clarke" she calls after her. Clarke turns and says thanks before walking out. It's late – around ten, and all she really wants to do is sleep. She's glad to have the next couple of days off, but doesn't really have any plans either. She goes to the Alpha cafeteria and grabs an apple, she's on her way out when she sees Wells.

"Hey" she says, dropping to the seat across from him.

He startles, looking up from his book and breaking out into a smile when he sees her. "Clarke" he greets with a nod. They're not as close as they used to be. His father floated her father, and she knows that is not his fault, but it can be hard to look at him without replaying the memory of her father being sucked out of an airhole and in to space. But, she still counts him among her closest friends – not that it's a long list. They chat for a while, mostly about easy, light topics, before she continues towards Factory. She grabs another apple on the way out, having had shared her original one with Wells.

She has her key in the lock when she hears voices from inside the pod. It comes back to her, all the sudden, that Avery told her he was going to ask out a girl he worked with, Amelia. Clarke knows her, just barley – they've talked in the cafeteria and in passing but never about anything more than current Ark happenings. She's pretty – tall and brunette, and kind. Clarke knows she could just walk in and past them, to her room, but she is just not in the mood to make small talk so she sighs, pulls her key out of the lock and walks down the hall to the large window.

She boosts herself up and sits on the ledge in front of the window – it's just barley deep enough for her to balance on, and eats her apple. She remembers that there is supposed to be a solar flare tonight, far enough away that it is no danger to them, but close enough that they'll be able to see a pretty spectacular show. She tilts her head back until it comes in contact with the glass and angles her face, waiting for it to come into view.

She hears a door open and close down the hall, and she moves only her eyes to see who it is – with no windows in the pods on Factory she'd expected at least a few people to watch the solar event at the windows on either side of the hallway. She'll move when people start coming. At first, she thinks it's Amelia and wonders idly what Avery did to make her leave (she feels guilty when he second though is that she won't have to sleep back on Alpha tonight if Amelia is leaving). But as the young woman walks closer, she realizes that she is a few years younger than Amelia and herself, and she walks so cautiously that she seems scared. Clarke hops down from the window and the girl jumps, obviously not having seen her. "Sorry" Clarke says, holding a hand out.

She looks from Clarke, back down the hallway towards the pod she came out of, and back to Clarke a few times before seeming to come to a decision, "That's okay" she finally says, quietly. She walks to the window and puts her hands on the ledge that Clarke just jumped down from, leaning in so close that her nose touches the glass. Someone passes behind them to the stairs that lead to Factory Cafeteria and she jumps again, turning away from them.

"I'm Clarke" she says finally, looking out of the window from behind the other girl.

She doesn't say anything for a long time, just keeps looking out the window, "I'm Octavia" she finally says, at a near whisper

"Like the Emperor Augustus's sister?" she asks. Clarke had a pretty long Roman History phase around age 12, being fascinated by the culture and world they lived in.

Octavia turns around at that, a bright smile on her face, "Yeah" she nods excitedly. She hesitates a moment before, "I thought there was going to be a solar flare tonight" she looks down like she's nervous and Clarke wonders why, "I really wanted to see it" she glances anxiously back down the hallway.

"We won't be in range to see it for another few minutes" Clarke answers. She waits a moment, before deciding that Avery wasn't going to anger Amelia, and maybe a shower would do her good, so she should probably stop stalling at get to Alpha. "Well…" she gives a half shrug, "Enjoy" she finally finishes.

"Thank You" Octavia breathes as Clarke walks away. Clarke hops over the rusted-out stair and into the hallway when a man's voice stops her.

"O! I've been looking everywhere for you. What the hell are you thinking?" he shouts at the young woman she was just talking to. Clarke peaks her head out to look at them, try to see what is going on. But her movement alerts him to her presence and he grabs Octavia's arm to quiet her – she's been apologizing since she saw him. He pulls her towards him and down the hall. He hears him hiss to Octavia as they walk; "Do you have any idea who that is, O? She's the Ark princess, she'll have people here inside of five minutes" it's the last thing she hears before they disappear behind a pod door.

She makes the rest of the walk to Alpha trying to make sense of what just happened. She doesn't know why the guy was angry or what he thought she was going to do to them. She makes it home, and starts to get ready to go to sleep. By the time she gets out of the shower, she's all but forgotten the odd exchange.

She never stays out in the common area when she's at home in Alpha, wanting to avoid contact with her mother as much as possible. So, she's in bed reading when he mother comes in from her Council meeting. It's obvious that she's here; she took a shower and has laundry hanging on the line now (hers and Avery's) so she's not surprised when her mom raps on the door. She sits up straighter, then decides to stand before "Yeah"

Her mother breezes in, "How are you, Clarke?"

She nods, "I'm well, you?" it feels like she is talking to a stranger.

"I am well" he mother says it slowly and Clarke nods into the awkward silence that follows. Abby clears her throat, "Were you on Factory Station earlier?" she's trying to sound casual, but failing, so Clarke knows this is going somewhere.

"Of course, I was" she answers. It's more or less where she lives, Abby knows she was there, Clarke just can't figure out where this is going.

"Was anything odd over there?" Abby asks. Clarke narrows her eyes in response. "We had reports of an unrecognized girl in Factory." She pauses, "And that you were talking to her".

Clarke rolls her eyes, "You sound crazy".

"We've had suspicions of a hidden child on that station for a while now, but random searches haven't turned anything up – if you came in contact with it, that would be huge. Someone saw you speaking to a brunette girl they didn't recognize. If you -"

"That is insane" Clarke interrupts, "Hidden siblings are a myth anyway" she turns so she's not facing her mother, the realization of who that girl was and why that boy was so angry she was out dawning on her all at once, "Goose-bump stories the Council spreads to keep people in line. No way a person lives on this ship to be my age without being discovered". Clarke almost believes herself – how has this girl gone un-discovered?

"Then who were you talking to, Clarke?" Abby asks, exasperated.

"Amelia" she answers, remembering how much she thought the young girl looked like Amelia, "She's Avery's new…whatever" she says, not knowing if they are actually dating or not.

Abby sighs and rubs her forehead, "Clarke, I -"

But Clarke cuts her off again, "Is that all you wanted?"

It's silent for a long moment, "No" Abby finally says at a near whisper, "I heard that you broke up with your boyfriend, and thought you might want to talk about it"

Clarke barks out a laugh, "Ajax and I broke up like six weeks ago," she does not mention that Ajax cheated on her, "And if I did want to talk, it wouldn't be with you" Abby looks genuinely wounded at that and Clarke takes a deep breath, "You and I just see the world differently, mom". She hates that she still ultimately wants to spare her mother's feelings and gain her approval. Abby nods a little, and turns to leave. Clarke sighs when she shuts the door behind her.

She drops to her bed heavily. How did she not know that there was a secret child living 4 doors away from where she slept most nights? How does someone live like that – was tonight the first time she ever walked in a hallway or looked out of a window? She lays back on the bed – she understands a mother wanting to keep her child, but it almost seems cruel – what kind of life could Octavia have? She'd have to be born, live, and die all in the same room. Suddenly, the Ark felt a lot bigger.

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	3. Desperation

Chapter Three: Desperation

For weeks, Octavia is all Clarke can think about. She wants to help, but didn't know a way to approach the situation without scaring the family. "You are thinking real hard over there" Avery's voice pulls her from her thoughts, "It looks painful" he laughs when the pillow hits him in the face.

"I have a very important question" she says and he puts on a mock serious face to appease her tone. "Do people call me the Ark Princess?" she asks, remembering the boy's words to Octavia when he pulled her out of the hallway.

"Uh," Avery stalls, and she grabs the pillow that she had just thrown at him back, to shove her face in, "Yeah" he says finally, "yeah they do" he finishes laughing at her.

"You couldn't even lie to make me feel better?" She asks incredulously, hitting him with the pillow, before putting it behind her head.

He laughs, "Please tell me that is not seriously what you've been over there lost in thought about" she just laughs, "Seriously, Clarke, you've been thinking hard about something for a couple of weeks now – what's up?"

She sighs, "I think I know something. Something I'm not meant to know" she says and he nods a little, "Something that if people find out, someone could get hurt" she says, choosing her words carefully.

"Well, can you do anything about it?" he asks her. And, she is reminded of why she loves him so much. Anyone else would have asked what it was, but he knew that she couldn't tell him and respected her enough not to ask.

She shakes her head, "I don't think so".

"So, maybe you don't" he says, "I know that's hard for you" he adds with a smile before she can protest, "But, maybe, how you can help is just by staying quiet and hoping it works out".

"I don't think this can 'work out'. I think the best-case scenario is that no one finds out" she says, picking at her fingernails absently

"Well" he says, "Maybe you hope for that? Maybe you keep the secret…maybe that's all that you can do"

"Yeah" she whispers, unconvinced.

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A couple of days later, after a shift at medical, she meets Wells at the Alpha cafeteria for lunch. They make easy small talk and plans to go to concert next week. While their eating, Wells mentions that they are going to tighten rations the day after next due to an incident at Agro where an entire half of the station caught fire and tons of food burned. It will take six months to replace the destroyed inventory and in that time most rations will be cut in half or more and anyone getting extra rations – like guards or heavy labors, won't any longer. Alpha would be the only station to remain mostly unaffected.

He mentions it in such passing that she's sure he thought she knew, but she asks question after question until he realizes that was not the case. "I'm sorry, Clarke, I thought you knew" he says when she's out of questions he can answer, "Our parents and Kane were talking about it at dinner yesterday" he winces when he remembers how little she talks to her mother these days. "Besides – you won't be affected" he adds in a way that she is sure he thinks is comforting.

She nods a little, "Sorry. I just…you know how much I hate not knowing things" she laughs at the end so he will too and changes the topic.

When she goes home later, she tells Avery what she heard and he waves her off, "Yeah, I heard about some explosion on Agro"

"Why am I the last person to know everything?" she asks. He gives her a half shrug in response. She sighs – she knows that she can take enough from Alpha for her and Avery, but she wonders how others will survive.

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She runs into Octavia's brother one day on her way home from work. Literally, she's looking down at a list of medicines and what they do, trying to memorize them and she smacks right into him while he's locking his door. She laughs a little, "I'm so sorry" she says as she looks up, realizing who it is she plowed into at that moment. He shrugs, tells her that it's fine but eyes her cautiously. He looks pale, sick maybe, and thinner than the last time she saw him, only weeks ago. She walks away – he's obviously uncomfortable and untrusting of her, so she doesn't prolong the interaction, just goes home. It won't dawn in her until later that he must feed Octavia out of his rations – and if they were cut, he couldn't be eating much at all.

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Working in medical buys you a lot of good-will and being a Council Woman's daughter buys you a lot of fear. Well, maybe fear is the wrong word – people might not fear her, but she knew that she could make them nervous and uncomfortable. With every crime being punishable by death, even people with nothing to hide got nervous around Council members. It is this combination of good-will and nervous fear that leads Clarke to believe that she can get away with something that people have been floated for.

She walks in the Factory cafeteria and goes to Miles, he's in charge of the lunch shift and is a friend of Avery's, "Hey Clarke, I've got no food to offer you for another hour or so" he says, then seem to rethink it, "Even then, it's not much" he adds quieter. The rationing has only been going on for a little while but it's already been rough for a lot of people.

Clarke smiles, shakes her head. She's one of the only people on the Ark with two cafeteria cards (one for Alpha and one for Factory) since she's never quite sure where she'll be eating, though she tries to eat on Alpha, as not to take away from Factory – also they are given more food there, and she can bring some back for Avery. "No, I'm afraid I need your help" she answers. "My Factory cafeteria card accidently got incinerated" she says with a small laugh. Miles cocks an eyebrow, "I had to burn a pair of my pants because of a contamination accident in medical, and the card was in them" she explains. The accident and burning of a pair of pants were true – it is what gave her this idea. And, she thought with her old card being 'destroyed', they wouldn't feel the need to deactivate it.

He laughs at her story, like she hoped he would. "Let's get you set up with a new one, huh?". She lets out a breath and hides it behind a smile.

For a week, she makes sure to use both cards, the old and the new, every day – she needs to make sure that its safe and that no one will figure it out. Everything is going well, until one day at lunch time, she is in front of Miles in line. She doesn't even think about it until she pulls her old Factory cafeteria card out of her pocket and places it between her teeth so she can pick up her tray. It's beaten up and obviously old, and has a 'My Little Pony' sticker on the front because Avery think's he is hilarious. Miles chuckles at the sticker, and either doesn't remember or doesn't mention that her card should be shining and new.

She sits on the card for another week, until she's sure it's safe. If something was going to happen it would have. So, she folds the card into a piece of paper and writes Octavia's name on the front before taking a deep breath and walking four doors down the hall and stopping on front of the one she saw Octavia pulled into all those nights ago. She just stands there for a long moment, before she takes a deep breath and slides the card under the door.

She's turning to walk away when the door swings open and the boy that dragged Octavia away is standing in front of her, card in his hand. "What is this?" he asks angrily.

Clarke presses her lips together for a moment, "Cafeteria card" she answers. He rolls his eyes. He pulls the piece of paper that it was folded in out of his back pocket and shoves it on front of her face, tapping his finger against Octavia's name. "Look, I – I just – I wanted" she stutters a little, "I was just trying to help" she says finally.

"Help what?" he challenges her, she's surprised by how small he can make her feel with just a look. She stands, silent and shocked, in front of him and he lets out a long breath, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. She notices then that he looks sick, tired and worn down. She knows he is a cadet, remembers that from the day he stopped her in the hall, and she knows that the extra guard rations had been stopped when rationing when into effect – she's not sure how he's surviving with so little food.

"I'm sorry. Maybe I did this all wrong" she waits a beat, "I'm Clarke" she says. She waits for him to tell her his name but he doesn't. So, she sighs and nods a little, "I was just trying to help" she repeats in a whisper before walking away.

What Clarke doesn't know is that when she walks away, Bellamy shuts the door and Octavia comes out of his room sobbing, "I'm so sorry, Bell. I shouldn't have gone out" she leans against him and he can feel her tears soak through the shoulder of his shirt as he promises her that it'll be okay – that he won't let anything happen to hey.

A month after rationing starts and extra rations for guard's end, cadet portions get cut in half. For a week, Bellamy basically starves and he's sure they can't continue like this. He sits in his room, turning the card Clarke gave him in his hand over and over – it's got to be a trap or a trick, nothing comes this easy, not to him. But Octavia is hungry all the time and he hasn't had more than water in a week, so he decides it's worth the risk. When he swipes the card, and is handed a tray, he thinks he'll sob with relief. He takes that food back to Octavia and brings his card back to the cafeteria, when that gets him another plate of food he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before eating.

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	4. Masquerade

Chapter Four: Masquerade

"No, I'm not going and you seriously… you can't make me" Clarke says, holding up her hands to deflect the pillow Avery throws at her in response.

"Come on, Mellie wants to go and I need a wing woman" he says. She shakes her head and then rolls her eyes.

"What happened to Amelia?" she asks and he shrugs noncommittally. She laughs and shakes her head a little. "Whatever – I don't care. I'm not going" she says again.

"Calrkeeee" he draws her name out in a whine, she arches an unsympathetic eyebrow. He sighs, sits up straighter, and then the bargaining begins.

In the end, she agrees to go, but he's doing her laundry for a month…she considers it a win. She rethinks that when, a few days later, she is standing in front of a grimy mirror picking at her mask. "Remind me why I agreed to this" she calls out, tilting her head to the side and pulling at her top.

"You hate laundry" Avery says, passing behind her.

"Makes sense…I do hate laundry" She says. She's mostly talking to herself as Avery is too busy staring at his reflection to pay her much mind.

"You ready?" he asks bowing dramatically and holding out his hand for her to take. They both laugh when she slaps her hand into his. They make their way down the hall and to the masquerade. They meet Millie inside and Clarke gets abandoned pretty quickly after that.

She's standing by a wall when she catches sight of Octavia's brother. She's not sure what to do, so she inclines her head a little in acknowledgement and frowns when he only looks away. She wonders if he's used the cafeteria card that she got him – hopes so. Avery comes up behind her and grabs her hand, spinning her in a circle and then onto the dance floor.

Bellamy watches her spin and laugh and wonders why she is here; she is the Ark Princess, but she slumming it on Factory. He wonders if the boy spinning her is some kind if act of rebellion against her parents. It's all he can think of. His eyes scan the crowd for Octavia and he smiles when he sees her – in the middle of a group of people with her hands above her head, jumping and dancing with everyone else. He's been so uncertain about bringing her, but he knew there might never be another chance. And it'd been more than a month since Clarke had slipped the cafeteria card under their door – he was sure they'd fallen off her radar. He'd traded shifts and planned it all so carefully – watching her now made it all worthwhile.

Avery releases Clarke to dance with Mellie and she goes to the small bar set up in the middle of the room. She's knows the girl who is working and makes idle chit-chat with her. They're laughing at her impression of a guy who is dancing when the loud speaker comes alive able them with a crackle.

A disembodied voice on a speaker announces that due to an unforeseen solar flare, the fun is over – everyone must take off their masks, show an ID card, and disperse. Clarke takes a long drink of water, pulling her mask off and searching the crowd for Avery. Her eyes are scanning the crowd and she stops short at the sight of Octavia, staring at her brother with big questioning eyes, her brother scanning the crowd in fear. Clarke finally finds Avery in the crowd and he rolls his eyes, gesturing around in annoyance that the party is over. She nods a little, then raises her hand in a wave, letting him know that she's going to dunk out and that he shouldn't look for her or worry if he can't find her. He nods a little, and raises his hand to wave back.

Clarke takes in a deep breath and turns to where she saw Octavia and her brother. There is a guard there now, and Octavia is looking between him and her brother with tears in her eyes, while her brother looks desperate and terrified. Clarke makes a decision, running over to them and grasping Octavia's hand, "I was looking for you all over" she says, her voice a forced chipper. "Ready to go?" she asks, tilting her head up to meet Octavia's brother's eyes before settling back on Octavia who nods slowly when Clarke smiles encouragingly.

"Not so fast there -" the guard cuts himself off when Clarke turns around and he realizes who she is "Clarke? What are you doing here?"

"Shumway" she nods, realizing which guard it is. He is a good friend of Avery's father, but like most other people knows nothing of her rift with her mother, "Avery lives here now, you remember" she answers a politely as she can. She licks her lips when she feels Octavia's hand tremble in hers, and tilts her head in mock innocence, "I guess we should go".

"Got your ID badges?" Shumway asks, straightening, enjoying this.

Clarke rolls her eyes, "Why? Did you forget who I am?". It's the closest she's ever come to 'don't you know who I am' but between needing to get Octavia to safety and how much she does not like Shumway, it seems to fit. She hates Shumway – hates what he let Avery's father get away with. But Bellamy's sharp intake of breath reminds her that this is not the right moment for her hatred or her rebellion, that lives are at stake now. So, she takes a deep breath, "We should go, with the news of the solar flare, my mother will be looking for us"

Shumway takes a half step back, affected by the reminder of her stature on the Ark, looks her up and down, smiling when Clarke's jaw locks for a moment but she doesn't speak. "Go" he jerks his head to the side with a chuckle.

Clarke nods, glances back at Octavia's brother and pulls Octavia away. She hears Shumway giving Octavia's brother instructions as they go. She all but drags Octavia with her until they get to her pod. Clarke opens the door and pulls Octavia inside. She's not even all the way inside when she starts to break down. Clarke shoves the door shut behind them and then turns to face Octavia, who all but falls into her arms.

It takes almost thirty minutes of an awkward hug in the entry way to calm Octavia, but finally her sobbing turns into small hiccups and Clarke pulls her into the living room. There is a couch and a chair and a small coffee table with a beaten-up tablet on it, and she leads Octavia to sit on the couch. "Do you think Bellamy is okay?" she finally forces out between hiccups.

"You're brother?" Clarke surmises, "I think so" she nods a little, "Right now, I think he's probably just mostly worried about you". Clarke stands, "It'll probably be a few hours until Bellamy can slip away, so just stay here and stay quiet" she says, turning towards the door. She's surprised by how quickly Octavia's hand reaches out to grab hers.

Octavia looks up at her from the couch, "Please don't leave" she whispers, looks down, "I don't want to be alone" she adds, wrapping her arms around herself.

Clarke nods, sits down next to her. After a few minutes of silence, Clarke points absently at the tablet, "Do you want to watch a movie?" thinking that a distraction might be nice.

Octavia nods, wiping at her eyes with a half-shrug. Clarke grabs the tablet and pulls up the movies, noticing that there are only about two dozen on there – she must have seen them all a thousand times, she realizes looking at Octavia before handing her the tablet so she can choose and going to the kitchen to get her a water.

When she gets back, Octavia has started a movie and smiles gratefully at Clarke when she hands her the water. They talk a little during the movie, and Clarke finds that she enjoys the younger girl quite a bit. About half way through the movie Octavia falls asleep, Clarke thinks about leaving, but doesn't want Octavia to wake up alone – and she wants to make sure Bellamy really does make it out okay. So, she grabs a blanket that's draped on the back of the couch and unfolds it, covering Octavia carefully. She then folds herself in the chair by the couch.

When Bellamy walks in the apartment, his wild eyes find Octavia first. He can't help the giant sigh of relief that escapes him and he drops to his knees in front of the couch, putting his hand on his sister's cheek. Clarke moves a little in her sleep and it draws his attention to her. He can't decide what to make of her, can't figure out what her motives might be. But she's slumped in the old chair in his living room, head hanging awkwardly forward, so he puts his hand behind her neck to lean it back, and brushes her hair out of her face, staring at her intently, as if by watching her, he could figure her out.

He finally sighs and stands, walking to his room to step out of his boots and toss his jacket over the chair just inside the door. When he walks back out to the common room, he sees Clarke walking to the door, woken up by the movement in the room, shifting nervously and walks over to her. "I was trying to help." She says, "I didn't know if you had an exit strategy, and maybe I overstepped, but -"

"Thank you" he says, interrupting her nervous babbling. It gets quiet and he swallows heavily, "thank you" he repeats. Clarke nods slowly, "I don't know what I would have done…" he shakes his head, "It was so stupid to take her there, anything could have happened…" he trails off again, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

"You got out okay? They don't suspect anything?" she asks.

"I'm sure they suspect plenty" he says, a humorless chuckle escaping him.

"They were suspicious before" she says suddenly, remembering what her mother told her, "I don't know why or how, but they were suspicious of a hidden child, that's why there are so many random searches here" she says it quickly, wanting to make sure she gets it out.

Bellamy nods, "We'll be more careful". Clarke nods, mumbles an okay.

"I guess I should…" she points at the door.

Bellamy clears his throat, "Yeah" she turns, her hand is on the doorknob when Bellamy's voice stops her, "I'm Bellamy, by the way" she laughs lightly.

"Hi Bellamy" he smirks at her.

"Hey Clarke" Octavia's sleep-filled voice calls from the couch as she sits up, pulling both of their attention. Clarke takes a half step in her direction and Octavia stands, crossing the rest of the distance and wraps her arms around Clarke, "Thank You" she whispers. Clarke nods against Octavia's shoulder. "Do you think…" Octavia trails off before starting again, "Do you think you could come back some back sometime?" she asks shyly.

Clarke glances back at Bellamy before turning to Octavia and nodding, "Of course" she says, grabbing Octavia's hand and holding it for a moment. She smiles, before turning to leave.

* * *

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	5. Quid-Pro-Quo

Chapter Five: Quid-Pro-Quo

It's a couple of weeks before Clarke gets back to see Octavia. She waits until Avery goes to work, and makes her way down the hall. She knocks in a rhythm and waits. Bellamy cracks the door to see who it is before he opens it. Once the door is shut behind her, he turns and shouts down the hall, "O" and Octavia comes out of his room. She runs down the hall and practically tackles Clarke in a hug. Clarke and Bellamy laugh and Octavia steps back, embarrassed.

"I uh, I know it's been awhile, I meant to come by sooner, but…" Clarke trails off and shrugs a little. "Anyway, I brought an edible apology" she says with a light laugh, pulling an apple and two oranges out of her bag and setting them on the table.

Octavia's eyes go huge and she looks at the fruit reverently while Bellamy stares disbelieving. Clarke wonders if she did something wrong until Bellamy clears his throat, "We've never had…" he trails off, gesturing at the fruit.

Clarke looks down a little, her turn to be embarrassed. Octavia breathes out a 'thank you' before picking up an orange and starting to peal it. She pulls out the first slice and holds it out for Bellamy. He smiles as he takes it.

They move to the living room and talk, mostly Octavia asking Clarke random questions while Bellamy watches. "So, is that guy your boyfriend?" Octavia asks, gesturing down the hall in the direction of Avery's pod.

Clarke crinkles her nose a little, "I think I just threw up in the back of my mouth a little" she says in a deadpan. Bellamy smirks, watching her out of the corner of his eye. She takes a deep breath, "When we were young, eight, Avery's mom got sick…she got so sick so fast, and she ended up in Medical a lot. My mom was her doctor so I was there a lot too. Since we were the same age, they used to send us off to play together while his mom was treated." She smiles fondly at the memory and clears her throat, "She died quickly…inside of six months. She maxed out on her medicine allotment and she just…" Clarke trails off, remembering how it was quick, until it wasn't… the last few days dragging on in agonizing slowness. She shakes her head a little, pulling herself out of the thought, "After his mom, his dad…" she trails off, not knowing how to describe it, "…wasn't great" she scoffs at her own understatement, "So when Avery was 15, we pulled all the money we had between us and he bought that pod. It was a shit hole" she remembers fondly, "The person who was there last broke…everything…and we could only afford it because of that. We said we'd fix it all, but…it's still kind of a shit hole" she smiles a little, "My dad was floated not long after that, and I sort of moved in" she shrugs, like it's not a big deal, mostly because she wishes it wasn't. It's quiet for a long moment, before Clarke smiles sadly, "If you would have asked me six months ago, I would have said that we were the closest thing to siblings on The Ark" she looks between Bellamy and Octavia, "but, I guess not"

Octavia laughs a little, tears in her eyes. Clarke changes the topic and for a long while they talk about whatever pops into Octavia's mind. Then, they start talking about their families, and Clarke asks how Octavia has managed to stay a secret all these years. "I hide" Octavia tells her and gets up to show her where. But she's not even fully on her feet yet when Bellamy's voice rings out.

"O" it's a warning, clear and loud. She starts to argue with her brother until Clarke speaks.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked" she says, hands held up in front of her. Octavia rolls her eyes at her brother, who does not back down. They talk for a little while longer, before Clarke gets up to leave. She promises Octavia that she'll come back and hugs her before she goes.

* * *

The next day, Clarke is in the Factory cafeteria, sitting at a table across from Avery. He's eating a meal, but she's just got a water. She's leaning against the wall, with her legs stretched out on the bench in front of her, laughing at something Avery said and grabbing a corner of his food. She talks so animatedly, it's one of the first things Bellamy notices while watching her, one of the reasons she catches his eye as he walks. He's just gotten off work, so he's still in his Cadet's uniform, it causes people to give him sidelong glances while he waits in the line. He gets his food (with the card she snuck him, he thinks guiltily) and sets down at a table far enough away that she won't notice his presence but close enough to watch her talk to Avery.

He can't hear them, but he watches her talk and move her hands to explain whatever she is saying. While he can't pinpoint why, he's certain that she is telling her friend about Octavia. They longer he watches the surer he becomes, until the thought of it is driving his crazy and he stands, walking over to their table before he's thought about it at all.

He clears his throat and Clarke and Avery both look up at him, "Hey, Bellamy…" she looks happy to see him at first, gesturing at the half empty bench like an invitation until she sees the hard set of his face and trails off. He feels like kind of ass. "Hi, Cadet" she says instead looking up at him with her eyes narrowed in question.

"Can I talk to you?" he asks and she hold his gaze for a moment before nodding. She glances over at Avery and rolls her eyes with a little shrug before standing and following him to an empty section of the cafeteria.

"Is Octavia okay?" she asks in a hurried whisper as soon as he turns to face her.

Yeah…he definitely feels like an ass. "She's fine" he says, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Did you…" he starts quietly then straightens and starts again, "Did you tell him" he asks, fear letting harshness lace his voice as his jaw jerks towards Avery.

Clarke takes a half step back from him, "Of course I didn't" she says, obviously hurt by the accusation. "I said I wouldn't tell anyone" she says shaking her head. It's quiet between them for a moment, "I have done nothing but help you" she says in a low voice, "at some point, you are going to have to start trusting me" she scoffs at the look on his face and shrugs a little, "or don't" she finishes, angry.

She holds his gaze for a long moment before turning to walk away. He grabs her arm, not done with the conversation, his fingers lose but circling just below her elbow. He hears her sharp intake of breath and feels her tense under his fingers and she whirls around so she's facing him again, "Let go of me" her voice is a mix of incredulous anger and annoyance, but her eyes mostly just look scared. He drops his hand to hang awkwardly at his side and opens his mouth to speak – he's not sure what he wants to say, apologize maybe, or ask her if she's sure she hasn't told Avery – but it doesn't matter, she's already walking away.

Avery stands and meets her a couple of feet in front of the table they'd been talking at and Bellamy watches him ask her something before she shrugs and shakes her head before smiling and pointing at the cafeteria doors. She doesn't look back at him, but he watches her leave.

* * *

The next time Clarke sees Bellamy is four days later, she's swiping her Alpha cafeteria card and chatting with a girl who is working behind the food line. She catches Bellamy out of the corner of her eye, cutting through the cafeteria to head back to Factory after work, and thanks the girl, stuffing her purchase in her bag and jogging to catch up. "Bellamy" she shouts from about 6 feet away. He doesn't react, so she's not sure if he didn't hear her or is ignoring her. She runs again, so that she can end up in front of him and stops as soon as she is blocking his path.

She realizes that he must not have heard her before, because his face registers confusion before anything else. She's still in her scrubs from work and her hair is thrown haphazardly up. "Bellamy" she breathes out again, ignoring the annoyance now registering on his face, at her blocking his path. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he glances around, "It won't take long" she promised.

He nods, and she thinks for a moment before she gets an idea and gestures for him to follow her and starts walking, glancing back to make sure he does. They've walked through two stations and she's pulling back a piece of plywood when he finally chuckles, and says her name like a question. She laughs a little, tells him to go with it and leads him down an odd tunnel before the get to a small room with a huge bubble window at the end. Bellamy huffs out a confused breath, reaching out to touch the window.

"This is where Polaris was meant to dock" Clarke explains. It was used as long-term storage after Polaris was blown out of the sky, no one wanting the reminder to be seen on a daily basis, and by the time Clarke was born, most people didn't even realize what it was anymore. "Avery and I came across it one day, just playing, and I loved it. I loved how close it is to the stars, how no one knows about it, how no one would look for anyone here…everything. But it scared the crap out of him" she laughs quietly at the memory of nine-year-old Avery thinking the glass would break when she leaned on it to read. She takes a deep breath, "It occurred to me that you don't really have any place to be alone, and I thought that you could…" she trails off, gesturing around a little, feeling silly and suddenly self-conscious.

Bellamy says her name, but she raises her hand a little, "I have no idea what it must be like to have kept a secret like a sibling for so long. And I have no idea what it must feel like for someone to find that out. I'm sure that it's terrifying to be forced in to trusting Octavia's life with someone you don't know and can't possibly trust" she pauses, chews her lip a little, "There's nothing I can do, other than promise you that I would never tell anyone." She shrugs, "I don't…I don't really have a quid-pro-quo to offer you, I don't have a secret like that. I'm sorry that you're stuck trusting me – but I think that you are"

Bellamy watches her with wide, careful eyes and Clarke nods, "So, that's all I really had to say…" she presses her lips together, watches Bellamy run a hand through his hair and rub the back of his neck.

He knows he should say something, try to reassure her that he trusts her, but he doesn't and he's not sure he can. He's not sure that someone like her could understand the stakes involved with knowing about Octavia, but he also doesn't know how to say that without upsetting her, which he can't do, because she could destroy his whole world with one conversation with her mother. So, an awkward quiet hangs in the room before she nods a little and walks past him to leave and he puts a hand on the window, leaning against it and closing his eyes, wiping his hand down his face.

* * *

It's a couple of days before Clarke goes back to see Octavia again. She just not sure what to say to Bellamy, who she hasn't spoken to since that day by the window, but she ultimately decides that she's being stupid and maybe a little childish and goes. She knocks on the door in rhythm and when Bellamy cracks it open, shock and confusion pass over his face. He moves back, allowing her to pass, before opening his mouth to say something. He's cut off by Octavia though, who comes out of his room, excited to see Clarke. "I'm gonna…" he points down the hall and disappears into his room.

Clarke brought her tablet, and it has tons of movies that Octavia has never seen, and popcorn so they set it on the coffee table and settle into the couch to watch while Octavia plays with a popped kernel before eating it. During a quiet part, Octavia leans toward Clarke and tells her that she doesn't know what happened between her and Bellamy, but whatever is was terrified Bellamy and he had been sure Clarke would never come back and he'd apologized to her – for ruining her friendship. Clarke sighs, waits a few minutes and excuses herself.

She walks down the hall and hesitates in front of the closed door. She knocks, the rhythm quiet as not to distract Octavia from the movie. Bellamy is standing in front of her a moment later, looking confused, but he steps back so she can come in. She sits on the foot of the bed and he follows suit, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "I'm sorry" she says finally and he barks out a laugh.

"I think that's my line, Princess" she hits his shoulder, laughs, tells him never to call her that, which pretty much guarantees he will. After a beat, he turns to face her more, "You were right – you haven't done anything but help us. And I should trust that…trust you".

She nods a little, "I don't want you to think that anytime we get into an argument you're in danger of me telling someone on you" she shakes her head, "We could become best friends, or we could never speak again, but no matter what, I'm not going to tell anyone" she says, holding his gaze. She hates not telling Avery, she can't think of a single thing she's kept from him since they were ten. But, this isn't her secret, and she won't tell it.

He nods, "I know", he tells her in a whisper.

"Good" she throws back, before lying back on the bed, her feet still on the ground. He laughs lightly until she tugs on the back of his shirt and he's next to her. They're quiet, lying about a foot apart and looking at his ceiling until she sighs. "Do you know why Avery left Alpha?" she asks, turning her head to look at him. He shakes his head a little, he'd heard rumors – everyone had, but didn't know the truth. She smiles sadly and clears her throat.

Bellamy's thumb touches her elbow, causing her to meet his eyes, "You don't have to tell me"

She breathes out a laugh and nods a little, "Avery and I have known each other our whole lives – we're about the same age and we were both on Alpha, so it was almost impossible not to. I was eight when his mom got sick and we got really close. Nine when his mom died. Twelve the first time his dad hit him hard enough to leave a mark." She closes her eyes and touches her cheekbone, right below her eye. "Backhanded him and his knuckle caught" she rubs the spot again before her hand drops to her stomach. "He begged me not to tell anyone – he'd just lost his mother and couldn't imagine losing his father too."

She's quiet for so long that Bellamy thinks she's said all she plans to. His head is turned to watch her but she's locked her eyes on the ceiling. When she pulls in a deep breath, he's worried that she's going to cry, but instead she starts to speak again. "Thirteen when someone else found out." It's hardly above a whisper and she closes her eyes when she says it, "His dad bent his ring finger back so hard in broke and he left the pod after curfew, ran into Shumway who was patrolling, and Shumway took him home. Shumway and Avery's dad go way back, so he just told Avery not to make up stories and left him there" She sniffles a little and he touches the back of her hand to her arm, just for a moment, just until she looks at him.

He holds her eyes for a long moment. He realizes in that moment, why she looked so frustrated when she saved Octavia from Shumway at the masquerade. He wants to thank her, again, for that moment, but she turns her eyes back to the ceiling and speaks first, "Fourteen when everything changed." She pauses for a long moment, "I was accepted into the medical apprenticeship and wanted to tell Avery first. I was so excited, I ran all the way to his Pod." She smiles a little at the memory, "But no one was there, so I went in and started reading a book – it wasn't uncommon. His dad came home and for a while it was fine." She pauses again and Bellamy swallows, "he grabbed me, pushed me against a wall and had his hand…" she trails off, shakes her head a little, "Avery came home and we left and he never went back to that pod again. My dad let him stay with us and we put every dime we had between us together so he could move out." Pods are insanely expensive to purchase if you're not a married couple – a way the council devised for the population not to outgrow the living quarters.

After a long moment has passed Bellamy speaks, "Did you tell anyone?" just above a whisper.

She shakes her head a little, "I couldn't be the reason Avery's dad was floated". She shrugs, "And for a while it was fine, Avery lived on Factory and kept his engineering apprenticeship on Alpha. But his father couldn't bare the embarrassment of him moving out, so he wanted him to go home and told the Council some story about why he left. Shumway argued that if he didn't appreciate all the advantages that came with being born on Alpha he shouldn't have them. The council made him choose. He quit his apprenticeship and took a machining job in maintenance here on Factory" She clears her throat a little, "My dad was floated a couple weeks later, and I basically moved in." she looks over at him, her cheek pressed against the blanket on his bed, "My mom didn't want me to lose the medical apprenticeship so we made a deal. I make the outside world believe that all is fine and she doesn't take that away" she's quiet before a breathes out a laugh, "That's why people like you still call me the Ark Princess" He laughs a little too.

After it's been quiet for a long moment, Bellamy is the one to speak, "I'm sorry, Clarke" and he is. He's sorry for what she's been through and sorry for believing that her life had been far too easy for her to understand his.

When she looks up at him, he's looking down at her with kind, gentle eyes. They're like that, caught in the stare, until Octavia's voice, telling them that the movie is over, brings them out of it and he goes with her into the living room to watch the next one.

Octavia is sitting in the chair, wrapped in a blanket that his mother told him belonged to her mother, so he and Clarke share the couch. Octavia picks another movie and everyone settles in, about twenty minutes into the movie, Bellamy see Clarke shiver a little and he reaches behind him to the blanket kept on the back of the couch. He drapes it over her, and she smiles at him, moving closer so that he is under it too.

Later, she starts to get sleepy, and she leans back, so her head is against the armrest on the couch. Every few minutes, her legs get heavy and away from her and her toes bump Bellamy's leg. Each time, she mumbles an apology and pulls them back, until the third time when he grabs her legs and pulls them across his lap. She laughs a little and he rolls his eyes in mock exasperation. Octavia watches the exchange with a smile.

Clarke wakes up to the feeling of Bellamy's hand on her ankle. He's running his thumb in slow soft circles around her ankle bone and she sighs a little with her eyes still closed, caught in the groggy state between awake and still-sleeping. He pauses for a moment, and she wonders if he knows she waking up, but then he continues, his fingers circle her ankle, before trailing back down to lightly trace her instep and fold over her foot. She blinks her eyes open, wanting to see him, and smiles at his face, which she sees only in profile, he's still watching the movie, his fingers playing on her skin absentmindedly. After a bit, he glances over to find that she's awake and for a moment his hands leave her skin, and hover just above it, like he's worried that she is going to be angry. But she doesn't move, just smiles at him, and his hands slowly lower to rest on her legs again.

He opens his mouth to say something, but all the sudden an alarm is going off in the room. Octavia wakes at once and her and Bellamy both shoot up. Bellamy is pulling up the floorboards while Octavia turns the alarm off and Clarke is so stunned she can barely move. Bellamy must notice, because he looks over at her, "random inspection" he explains and Clarke nods, standing.

She hugs Octavia quickly, promising to see her soon, and watches her crawl under the floor. The reality of her life hitting Clarke hard. She grabs the blanket that Octavia had just been wrapped in and drapes it over her, before helping Bellamy lower the floor grate and re-position the table and chair over it. "So…that's where she hides" Bellamy says, taking a few steps back to make sure nothing looks out of place.

Clarke is suddenly aware that she now knows every detail she would need if she wanted to expose them, and she understands why Bellamy was so scared of her having all the pieces of the puzzle. She walks over to him, and lets her hand circle his wrist, "You can trust me" she promises.

He nods, "I know" he whispers.

She's not sure what possess her, but she leans up and kisses him. It's fast, over before it really begins, and sloppy, she only gets the corner of his mouth. She shakes her head at herself, embarrassed, until she feels Bellamy's hand cup her cheek, he leans in so close that she's sure they're passing the same breath back and forth. The sound of guards down the hall pulls their attention and Clarke sighs, "I have to go. It'll only bring questions if I'm here" Bellamy presses his mouth in a firm line, concerned, "Avery's place is only four doors away – I can make it" she promises. Bellamy nods once, slides his hand from her cheek to the back of her neck and presses his lips to her forehead, Clarke closes her eyes and leans into the sensation before pulling back and going to the door. She cracks it and see that the guards are down the hall, in another room. "I'll see you soon" she whispers and slips out, moving down the hall and into Avery's pod.

* * *

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	6. Celebration

Chapter Six: Celebration

Bellamy only knows that it's Clarke's birthday because guards will be required at her party. He'd tried to be assigned to it, but all the cadets wanted to work – a chance to meet The Princess too tempting for them, and he couldn't rock the boat, not this soon after the masquerade party. He mentioned it to Octavia the day he found out, but only really in passing. She's taken that information and ran with it – making a 'Happy Birthday' banner and hanging it in the middle of the room, along with silly hats that she intends to make him wear. He tries to temper her expectations – telling her that Clarke probably won't be able to come over on her birthday, but she pays him no mind, telling him that they can celebrate whenever she can come over.

* * *

Clarke stands in the middle of the bathroom, picking uncomfortably at the dress her mother had _asked (_ told _)_ her to wear to the party, it's long and entirely too formal; black with a little shimmer. Avery comes up behind her and pulls at her hair as she's trying to put it up in an intricate braid, "Hey" she calls out, annoyed. He sticks his tough out, she rolls her eyes, pulling the last piece of hair in to place, and securing with a pin. She sighs, takes a step back, and looks at herself in the mirror. She's never wanted to smash anything as badly as she wants to smash the mirror, but she'd only have to clean it up and put it back together, so instead she crinkles her nose and turns away.

"You're going to be late" Avery tells her, shoving his watch in her face. She pushes his hand away and smacks his shoulder before turning the door. "Happy birthday, Clarke" he says more seriously. She smiles at him in thanks and he adds, "We're good for dinner tonight, right? You'll be able to make it home before I have to go to work?" he asks.

"I'll make it" she promises. In stark contrast to her, Avery loves birthdays, including hers.

She leaves, making her way to her mother's pod in Alpha. She'd agreed to meet her there before going to the party, so that they could arrive together. She sighs before pushing the door open, her mother's voice greeting her almost as soon as she does, "Clarke, happy birthday". She fusses with Clarke's dress a little, smoothing out wrinkles and straightening the neck line before ghosting her hand over Clarke's braided hair.

Clarke takes a half step back, "Thanks" she mumbles, tucking a lose hair behind her ear.

Abby straightens and nods, "Are you ready?" she asks and on Clarke's nod they walk down the hall to the cafeteria, her shoes click-clacking while Clark has to focus a little on keeping her balance. Her party is a lunch, and one she is required to attend under her deal with her mom. When they get to the cafeteria, she looks around at the decorations that adorn every girl's birthday party on Alpha; pink ribbons tattering at the edges and white tablecloths yellowing at the edges from too many washes.

People clap when they see her, and she forces a smile, her hatred of this event has nothing to do with them and she needn't be rude. She finds Wells easily and sits down next to him, they don't understand each other as well as they used to, but he knows how she feels about her birthday and he's still easily the friendliest face in the room. Things mostly happen around her, while she sits and chats with Wells, eating a large lunch. Until, they bring in a cake, covered with light white icing and strawberries. She forces herself to sit still while people fuss about the cake, then asks Wells to cut it for her and excuses herself.

She's going crazy, and she just needs a minute to herself, a minute to not be putting on a show. So, she walks across the hall and into an enclave that mostly hides her from view. She turns away from the crowd and presses her fingertips to her forehead, pulling in a deep breath. "Hey" she hears from behind her, she startles, jumping a little then turning to face whoever has found her.

"I'm sor-" the apology dies on her lips when she sees that its Bellamy. She smiles, breathes out a relived sigh and pulls her pinky's in a half circle under her eyes, where tears had just started to fall. "Are you working at the party?" she asks, noticing that he's in uniform.

"No," he shakes his head, his breath catching then releasing in his throat at the sight of her, statuesque in her long dress and heeled shoes, "That was a rough ticket to get – everyone wanted to see the princess celebrate" he says, reaching out to squeeze her elbow softly.

She wants to tell him not to call her princess, but with her hair braided around her head like a crown and a party happening 100 feet away in her honor, she's never felt more like one, so instead she breathes out a half smile and tilts her head a bit. "I uh," but then she sees that his hand in bandaged and grabs it, pulling it up and holding it out like a question, "Bell?" she asks, concern lacing her voice.

He looks away, embarrassed, "There was a malfunction with some of the tasers at work. It's not a big deal" he promises, stepping forward, closer to her. As they were pulling the tasers out of the cabinet at the beginning of the shift, about a half dozen had malfunctioned and activated.

She pulls his hand towards herself and turns it over in her own, "it is a big deal" she whispers and turns their hands, so she's holding his hand right below her chin and he lifts them so his knuckles graze her cheek. She turns her head and kisses his hand, her lips landing on the knuckle of his second finger. For a moment neither of them move or speak until she swallows, "You should have come to medical, I -"

"Blake" she's cut off by a member of the guard, who shouts at Bellamy from about 10 feet away. Bellamy shakes his head, mouths an 'I'm sorry' to her and turns to follow the guard. He wants to turn, at least tell her 'happy birthday' but he can't, not now, so he turns his head a little to see her walking back to the party from the corner of his eye, holding her dress in her hands as she passes over a set of stairs to keep herself from tripping.

She settles back next to Wells, who bumps her shoulder with his affectionately. People aren't focused on her – too preoccupied with their cake and each other, so Wells pulls a box out from under his chair and holds it out for her. "Wells, you didn't need to," but he dismisses her with an easy wave of his hand. She smiles and opens he box to a set of art supplies; colored pencils and charcoal lining the inside. She smiles, sets the box down and hugs him. "Thank you so much" she breathes out and he similes, dunking his head a little.

Another hour or so passes and she stands, hugging Wells again, and thanking him for the present she's putting in her bag. "Happy Birthday" he tells her again as she gathers another couple of things. She smiles, thanks him and heads off to find her mother.

Her mother is talking to Chancellor Jaha and she stands a few feet away and waits for her mother to notice her. "You're leaving" she says when she walks over, noticing Clarke's bag. "you should really stay a bit longer" It's the third time Clarke has tried to leave, her mother stopping her each time with angry words about fulfilling her promises hissed from the side of her mouth.

Clarke nods, "Avery has to work soon, and if I want to have dinner with him at home for my birthday, I have to go" Abby winces a little, hating that Clarke calls that tine pod on Factory home, but nods.

"Happy Birthday, Clarke" Abby whispers, pulling her into a hug that Clarke doesn't exactly return but doesn't shrug off either.

"Thanks, mom" she nods softly, before walking away.

* * *

The tablet that Bellamy and Octavia has does not pick up the Ark station, it's old and has been dropped a few hundred too many times, so the receivers broken and it can only play downloaded media. But Clarke left her tablet the last time she was there and the receiver on it worked just fine. Octavia has taken to using it to monitor the Ark station, which was normally just a static view of the ground from wherever they are at the moment and a monotone voice telling them of any upcoming events or dangers ('routine maintenance scheduled on Thursday, expect colder than normal temperatures' becomes the soundtrack to their lives), so Bellamy is not surprised to find her watching it when he gets in from work.

Only, it's not talking about the maintenance now, it's showing a photograph of Clarke from the party this afternoon – obviously taken without her knowing, she's facing Wells, talking and smiling brightly, the recording is informing everyone that it's her birthday. Birthdays are always announced on the Ark station, but it's normally quick and in between repetitions about maintenance, or whatever else is going on. This is like a full feature, and Bellamy supposes that it makes sense; she's the princess - assumed heir to the Medical Director throne and a spot on the Council.

* * *

"She looks so beautiful" Octavia says, pulling him from his thoughts. He hums noncommittally. She looks around at the decorations she's made and scrunches her nose, "Maybe this was a bad idea, I mean she had all that" she says pointing at the picture of the party.

"I think yours is better" Bellamy tells her and then reminds her that she has no idea how long it will be before Clarke can come over again.

"I know, I know, I'm pushing it" Clarke says as she throws her weight into the door to open it. Avery is already dressed for work, but is lounging on the couch.

"Thought maybe you were too cool for me" Avery teases, going to pull food out of the kitchenette.

"I usually am" she says, setting her bag down and sitting on the couch and kicking her shoes off. "It was hard to get away" she says, pulling her feet under her.

"No worries" he answers coming up behind her. He walks around and places a plate in front of her; mashed potatoes (her favorite) and a sweet bread with icing that she likes much better than the cake that was at her party. She doesn't know how gets the potatoes and sweet bread, but he does every year, and he always tells her that he just trades for it and gives her a smile that promises it's fine. She doesn't ask him how anymore, just makes him swear that he's not doing anything illegal to get it – she doesn't think she'd survive watching him float, especially if it was over something he did for her.

They talk mostly about her party while they eat, she blushes when he says that they covered it on the Ark Station ('just like the natural disaster you are'). They're finishing when he looks at his watch a mumbles a 'shit' under his breath. He bends his wrist so she can see the time, "I gotta go" he says standing and taking their plates to the kitchen, "Don't you dare wash these, birthday girl" he says and she rolls her eyes but hold up her hands in a 'you win' gesture.

"I have something for you" he announces and she cocks her head to the side.

"Avery" she says sternly, like a warning.

"Just come here" he says pulling out a leather-bound book.

"You and Wells" she says it like an accusation, realizing they coordinated on her gift and he laughs.

"We still talk occasionally" he says, handing it to her.

"It's beautiful" she says, running her hand over the front. He'd made it, she can tell that, probably out of scrap leather. It's bound together by stiches and 'C.G.' is engraved on the front. Inside are pages and pages of blank paper for her to draw on. She smiles, folds it against her chest and wraps her arm around him. "You really should not have, but I love it" she whispers and he chuckles against her ear.

After he leaves, she puts the book in her bag next to the art supplies and smiles. She wants to change, feels ridiculous in her dress, but it's late already and she wants to go before they'd be asleep. She half shrugs to herself, pulls her bag onto her shoulder and walks down the hall.

She knocks on the door, her rhythm lighter than usual as not to wake them if they are sleeping, it's late and she wonders if she's rude for showing up now. But Bellamy cracks the door, then opens so she can come in and she hopes that it's okay. "Were you asleep? I can go if you were asleep. I'm sorry to show up so late, but I wanted to come by since it's my…" she trails off as she looks up and around the room. Octavia has made and hung a banner that says 'Happy Birthday, Clarke' across the living room wall and there are small decorations made of paper all around the room "…birthday" she finishes in a whisper.

Octavia has come out of the back room, cheeks flushed pink in embarrassment, Clarke pulls her into a tight hug the moment she sees her. "Thank You" she breathes out and Octavia smiles. Bellamy watches the exchange with a smile. "This is amazing" Clarke says as she takes a step back from Octavia.

"It's nothing" Octavia says, pushing her hair behind her ear.

Clarke shakes her head, "It's not nothing, 'Tavia" she almost whispers, reaching up to touch the banner, rubbing the corner of the paper between her fingers. After a moment, she remembers something and goes over to her bag, pulling out a white box, "It's not a lot, but I wanted to bring you guys some" she says, holding it up.

Bellamy's "I don't think you're supposed to give gifts on your birthday, Princess" and Octavia's "What is it?" fill the room at the same time and all three of them laugh. The kitchen table has a sewing machine and fabric draped over it, so Clarke sets the box down on the coffee table and pulls the lid off, putting it on the kitchenette counter.

Neither of them have ever had cake before, most people outside of Alpha hadn't, so she'd made sure to take some from the party. Octavia licks her lips excitedly and goes to the kitchenette to grab three forks, sets them down next to the cake and sits in the arm chair by the coffee table, waiting for Clarke and Bellamy.

Bellamy's fingertips skim her spine until they touch the small of her back and his hand drops and she turns to face him, "You didn't have to," he tells her, his eyes narrow and studying her.

"I wanted to" she says, barely above a whisper, then smiles and sits on the couch.

A moment later Bellamy sits next to her, close enough that she can feel his body heat but not so close that they're touching. He tells Octavia to go ahead, and she excitedly takes a bite. "I didn't think even royalty could get real strawberries" he says, sliding his fork into the cake.

Clarke smiles, and leans back on the couch, pulling her legs up, and folding then next to her. "When I was young, maybe like ten, my father told me that the one thing that he wanted to try but was never able to was strawberries, Agro could never get more than a dozen or so of them to grow in a six month span, so he'd never had them, but he'd read about them" She swallows, smiles a little sadly, "so that year, when they asked me what kind of cake I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted one with strawberries. I didn't really think it would happen, but with both my parents on the Council, and Jaha being their best friend" she pauses, scoffs at her own words, "On my birthday they carried out a cake with strawberries on the top" she sniffles a little, "My dad loved them" she adds almost wistfully, "Now, it's kind of a tradition" she's fiddling with the broken watch on her wrist when she's done.

Bellamy puts his hand on her knee and she gives him a half smile, before leaning her head back against the couch. As soon as she does she pulls it forward again, the braids making it uncomfortable to lean against. She reaches up and pulls the pin out of her hair, then undoes the elastic holding the rest in place, she tosses the pin and the elastic in the direction of her bag, making a face when she misses and Bellamy laughs under his breath. She runs her hand through her hair until all the braids are out, then leans back again.

Octavia is completely transfixed with her dress, she touches the fabric a few times and tells Clarke how beautiful it is. Clarke smiles and shrugs a little, "I kind of had to wear it" and Octavia nods even though she doesn't really understand why Clarke wouldn't want to wear it. (the next time Clarke comes over, she brings the dress, washed and folded, and gives it to Octavia. Tells Avery that she finally traded it at the Exchange for something more praticle, like she'd been wanting to for years. Octavia cries when Clarke tells her she can really have it.).

For a while, an easy silence fills the room, and Clarke's eyes start to drift shut, until Bellamy's wrist bumps her knee and she looks over at him. He's holding out a fork with a bite of cake on it and she smiles and takes it, watches him pick his own fork back up and take another bite after. She sets her fork back down on the table, chewing her bite, and watches Bellamy do the same, silently giving the rest of the piece to Octavia. Bellamy scoots back on the couch, settling in and Clarke watches him and Octavia for a moment, "I hate my birthday" she says quietly, "I have ever since my dad was floated, maybe even before that" she adds, looking between Bellamy and Octavia who are watching her quietly, "But this is really nice" she finishes. Octavia smiles and Bellamy keeps watching her.

Octavia puts on a movie, but they're all so tired they know they won't make it to the end, so she picks one they've all seen. She wraps herself in a blanket and stretches out in the chair, eyelids already heavy. Bellamy lets out a low laugh, watching her already struggling to stay awake. Clarke smiles and is still for a long moment, before she grabs the pillow from the end of the couch and puts it on Bellamy's lap. She lays down a moment later, her head on the newly placed pillow. For a moment, Bellamy is still and she's sure she over-stepped, but then he grabs the blanket from the back of the couch and unfolds it onto her. One of his hands rests on her shoulder and the other goes to her hair, pulling though it in an easy, repetitive motion. She lets herself breath in relief and moves one of her hands up to take his, holding it by her shoulder.

It's his still-bandaged hand and she unwraps it carefully to look at the burn like scar forming on his palm. She makes a face and presses her lips just above the mark before holding his hand lightly, taking care not to press on the wound.

By the time the movie has been on for half an hour, both the girls are asleep. Bellamy watches them as they both breathe easy and deep. He thinks that this is one of the best moment of his life; Octavia isn't in immediate danger and they have someone they could trust. Octavia had needed someone other than her brother and her barley-present mother to be around, and she had that now. And if Bellamy is being honest, he needed someone he could talk to – someone he could trust, and he had that now too. He doesn't know why she didn't turn them in, or what made her so determined to help them, even when he made it clear that her help wasn't welcome, but he is thankful she did.

Clarke adjusts in her sleep a little, turning so she's on her back and not her side, and Bellamy doesn't think much of it until she mummers something under her breath and flinches. He wonders then, if she's having a night mare. He's not sure if he should wake her, so he soothes her hair away from her face and puts his hand on her cheek. "You're okay, Clarke" he whispers, running his thumb along her cheekbone. Her eyes move beneath closed lids and he moves on hand to the top of her head and leans closer to her and says her name, trying to wake her without scaring her. She sighs in her sleep, "Hey, I've got you, you're alright" he mummers and finally, her eyes screw shut before popping open.

"Bellamy" she breathes out his name and sits up. She scoots closer to him, so they're touching and runs her fingers under her eyes – collecting tears in front of him for the second time that day. He puts one arm around her and moves his other hand to her cheek, running his thumb over her jaw to collect a tear that slid past her fingers. "I'm sorry" she whispers, shaking her head.

"Are you okay?" he asks lowly, glancing at Octavia out of the corner of his eye to make sure she hadn't woken up.

Clarke nods, "I'm okay. I'm embarrassed, but I'm okay"

He laughs, "Don't be" and waits a moment, thinking, considering, before sighing. "Look, I know it's not your birthday anymore," he says glancing at the clock by the door, telling him that it's now early the next morning, "But, I couldn't find the time to give you this yesterday" he pulls a necklace out of his pocket and dunks his head, embarrassed, when he holds it out to her. He hadn't wanted to give it to her in front of Octavia (he wasn't sure why) and he hadn't had time when he stumbled on her in the enclave by the cafeteria. He hadn't even been sure he would give it to her, but when he heard about her birthday he'd made it; a charm made of burnt and cut wood, shaped like a tree and hung on a silver chain.

Her eyes get wide and she breaths out his name almost reverently, picking up the charm in his palm and pulling to towards her, the chain dragging behind. Her eyes flick from the charm to his face a few times before she settles on him and says his name again. He looks up at her, and their eyes connect, "you draw them a lot" he says by way of explanation, she'd often sit and draw while spending time with Octavia and he'd seen many tree-filled drawings of the ground.

She smiles softly, "Yeah, I do". She turns the pendant over in her palm a couple of times, "It's really beautiful" she says quietly, then holds it out, silently asking him to fasten it around his neck. He takes it from her, and does so, his fingers brushing the skin and trailing down her arms after. She turns to face him again and pulls him into a hug, "Thank You" she whispers, her lips brushing his ear.

"Happy birthday, Princess" he whispers back.

* * *

Please Review :-)


	7. Graduation

Chapter Seven: Graduation

The guard that Bellamy is shadowing this week, Andrews, is called to a disturbance at Medical, so they make their way to Alpha. Andrews is an okay guy, so they chit chat while they walk, Andrews is just finishing a story about his disastrous date with a girl from Tesla Station when they round the corner to Medical, but Bellamy's laugh dies in his throat when he sees Clarke, holding a bandage to the back of her hip and waving her mom off.

Andrews clears his throat, introduces himself and explains that Bellamy is in training before asking questions, mostly directed at Clarke's mother. Bellamy holds Clarke's eyes the entire time while he half listens to what happened; a man, desperate to steal medicine for his sick child had stabbed Clarke with a nearby scalpel when she'd walked in on him unexpectedly and he'd panicked.

Clarke's scream of pain had brought Jackson to the room, and he'd been able to throw the guy off of Clarke. Clarke speaks for the first time at this part adding a "My hero" in a high-pitched teasing voice. Jackson laughs and rolls his eyes at her, blushing a little.

It isn't until Andrews calls Bellamy's name that he blinks a few times and his eyes leave Clarke, "You're about off for the night, right?" he asks, quiet and leaning towards him so that the others don't hear him. Bellamy glances at the clock on the wall and nods, "They already caught the guy – he gave the meds to his kid then just waited for the guards to come. You mind doing a little babysitting before you leave? Get The Princess home safe, I'll finish up here?" Bellamy wants to react to the nick name; laugh or try to reclaim it somehow, but only nods instead. Andrews thanks him before explaining what will happen to the room.

Clarke's mom starts to tell Clarke that she'll take her home, but Clarke just shakes her head, her eyes sharp. Abby frowns, but nods.

Clarke walks over to Bellamy, who has a million things he wants to ask her, but just jerks his head, indicating that she should follow and turns on his heels to walk out, listening for Clarke's following footfalls. They get out of Medical and turn into an empty hallway and Clarke stops, leans against the wall and takes a deep breath, tears gathering in her eyes. Bellamy's not sure what to do, but walks over to her, resting his hand on her arm before pulling her towards him, wrapping his arms around her when her weight rests against him. He rubs her back and whispers comforting nonsensicalness in her ear.

After a few moments, she sniffles and steps back, pulling the backs of her hands against her eyes. "Thanks" she mumbles and Bellamy shrugs a little. She's quiet until she looks up at him, "You can go" she whispers, hurt and confusion flash across his face at the dismissal and she clarifies, "I just…I don't know where I'm going, so…" she trails off.

"You're not going home?" Bellamy asks confused.

She shakes her head, "Avery is home and I'm going to tell him, obviously, but I just don't want to talk about it yet." She pulls in a slow breath, "I just want to process it before I have to explain it, and he'll be all over-protective, over-reaction freak about it", there is a fondness in her voice that just barley covers the exhaustion and fear brewing under the surface as what could have happened settles in.

Bellamy nods in understanding, "Come on" he whispers and takes her hand, pulling her gently towards Factory. She follows, letting herself be pulled. When they get to their hallway, he starts to tell her that she doesn't have to tell Octavia, but he realizes that you can see her bandage through her shirt and stops in the hallway. He takes off his guard jacket and tugs the hoody that he wears underneath off and hands it to her, adjusts his t-shirt and puts his jacket back on. She pulls the hoody on and mumbles a thank you.

He opens the door and lets Clarke walk in front of him. He trails his hand down her back once she's in and watches her flinch a little when he's near the bandage, he realizes that she's in a lot more pain that he knew.

Octavia is in the kitchen, cooking some vegetable that Clarke brought the last time she was there, and is excited to see her. Clarke helps her in the kitchen and Bellamy goes to the bathroom, washing his face and changing out of his uniform. When he comes out, they are setting the table and sitting down. Bellamy watches Clarke push at her food while they eat.

After they eat, they move to the living room and play a card game at the coffee table. After a couple of rounds, Clarke lays down on the couch and mumbles that she'll just watch the next one. Clarke feels badly for how often she falls asleep while at the Blake's, but Octavia never seems to mind, happy to have the friend. Bellamy reaches behind himself and lays a comforting hand on her thigh, just above her knee. A little while later, Octavia dozes off too and Bellamy cleans up the cards and then the dishes from dinner. As he's walking back to the living room, he catches Clarke out of the corner of his eye. She's still asleep, but there is a slowly spreading red stain forming on his hoody. He drops to his knees in front of the couch and puts his hand on her shoulder, shaking lightly and calling her name.

Clarke's eyes ease open and furrow in confusion, "Bell…?" she whispers and he gestures to her side. She curses under her breath when she sees it. She closes her eyes before she sits up. He reaches out his hand and she lets him lead her to the kitchen and she sits. He wets a towel and sits in a chair next to her. She winces when she pulls the hoody over her head and peels her bandage off. She uses the towel to clean off the blood and nods, "the bandage just needs changed…I bled through the stitches, I didn't break them" she sounds relived and turns to Bellamy to explain, "I didn't want to go back to Medical" she explains. He nods and goes to the bathroom to get a bandage.

When he gets back, he pulls his chair closer to her and picks up the towel. He waits for her to nod her permission before pulling the towel across her skin until all the blood is gone. After, he presses the bandage to her skin. When he's done, she puts her hand on his cheek and he smiles against it before pulling her forward and kissing her forehead.

She picks up his hoody and frowns at the blood stain on the side, "I'm sorry" she mumbles, "I can get it out" she promises, "After working in medical, I'm pretty good at it" she explains and they both laugh lightly. She leans forward and presses her head to his shoulder, humming softly when his hand trails up and down her back lightly.

It's quiet for a few moments before she speaks again, "They're going to float that man" she says it sadly. Bellamy knows that they will, but also knows that it's not what she needs to hear right now, so he stays quiet and lets her hair fall through his fingers over and over.

* * *

A few days later Clarke walks into the Meeting Room and smiles at little. There is a podium set up on one side, the members of the Council lined up in chairs to the left of it, and seven empty chairs lined up on the right. She moves her hand so that the camera she's holding captures everything – she wants Octavia to be able to watch this later. Her mother sees her and gives her a quizzical look, "That's my mother" she says into the camera, just barely above a whisper.

She pans the camera around the crowd and pauses on a woman who looks so much like Octavia it almost hurts. Clarke can't remember ever meeting Aurora Blake, and it feels crazy that she should know so much about this woman's family without knowing her at all. She finds a spot near the middle and stands shifting impatiently until the seven graduating cadets are marched out, and sat in the chairs opposite the Council. She claps with everyone else when they enter, then raises the camera to make sure Octavia will able to see Bellamy when she watches.

She watches Bellamy's eyes scan the crowd, she's not sure what he's looking for, or who, but she raises her hand to just above her face and waves a little so that he'll see her. She can tell when he finds her, his eyes settle on hers and his lips part in surprise and the ghost of a smile. She laughs and little and dunks her head, smoothing out her sundress self-consciously. Shumway stands at the podium and gives a short speech about how proud he is of this graduating class, and how the Ark will be in good hands. After, council member Kane stands from his seat and walks to the podium. He also gives a short speech about the Guard and how important it is to their lives and then calls the cadets up, one by one, to receive their new uniforms.

They go alphabetically, so Bellamy is called first, he walks to Kane who shakes his hand and hands him a folded stack of clothes. Clarke is surrounded by polite applause, so she lets out a little 'whoop' and laughs lightly when the apples of Bellamy's cheeks tinge pink in embarrassment. Bellamy sits and the rest of the cadets are called. After, Clarke watches Aurora go to Bellamy, hugs him, then disappear down a hallway and she goes to him after. "…And this is Member of the Guard, Bellamy Blake" Clarke narrates to the camera, panning it up and down so you can see all of him.

He rolls his eyes and waves a little and she laughs before turning the camera off and putting it in her pocket. Bellamy lets her pull him into a hug and she whispers in his ear, "Congratulations, Guard". He smiles and tightens his arms around her before releasing her, she kisses his cheek as she pulls back. "I'll bring this by later for O" she says gesturing to the camera.

He nods, "I work tonight, but she'd like that" he says, looking at her. "You didn't have to come" he says, tugging on the necklace he made her for her birthday – she hadn't taken it off since he gave it to her.

She mock shrugs, "Yeah, well, I had nothing better to do". He laughs and pushes her hip lightly. She looks at a clock on the wall and sighs. "I have work…but, I'll see you later" she says and turns, she takes a few steps before turning back around, "Seriously, Bellamy, congratulations" she says, and continues after he nods.

* * *

She shows up at his pod about five minutes before he has to leave for work. She knew she had to make it before he left since Octavia can't answer the door, but work had run late, and she stopped at home to shower and change into shorts and an oversized top, and she almost didn't make it. "Sorry, sorry" she says when Bellamy opens the door, her still-damp pig tails darkening her top.

He laughs, stepping aside so she can enter. "Octavia's in the shower" he tells her when she looks around. She nods, "And I have got to get to work" he finishes. She laughs, nods again, he holds her gaze for a moment before he disappears out of the door. She moves to sit on the couch and connects her camera to the tablet on the coffee table.

Octavia comes out the bathroom in leggings and a t-shirt. She's surprised and excited to see Clarke and sits next to her on the couch. They start the recording and Octavia laughs at Clarke's running commentary. On the third viewing, Octavia pauses it when her mother comes into the picture. She's quiet for a long moment, pulls her legs onto the couch and curls into herself.

"Bell doesn't think I know this," she starts in a near whisper, "but, my mom has been sleeping with one of the head guards since I was born. It's how she knew about the random inspections – he triggers the alarm when they start on this hallway" she points to the alarm that goes off in the room before the inspections. "When the guard's wife died, he just kind of moved my mom in" Octavia kind of half shrugs, "Now I don't see her much". Clarke scoots a little closer to Octavia and wraps an arm around her shoulders.

"I think," Clarke pulls Octavia's hair from her face and kisses her forehead, "I think we do what we have to, to protect the people that we love" she says quietly.

* * *

When Bellamy gets home, there is a frozen picture of him shaking Kane's hand on the tablet, he laughs stepping out of his boots and setting them by the door. He finds Octavia sleeping in their mother's room, curled safely on the bed. He figures that Clarke went home, so he shrugs off his jacket, tossing it over a chair in the kitchenette, and goes to the bathroom. He washes his face and changes into loose shorts and a t-shirt before he walks towards his room. He stops in his tracks when he reaches the threshold of his room; Clarke is curled up on his bed, sleeping soundly, a book falling from her lose grip. He smiles, leans against the threshold and just watches her for a moment. Ever since her birthday, she's spent at least two evenings a week with him and Octavia – between that and work and her obligations to her mother and time spent with Avery – he knows she has to be exhausted all the time.

He's never really considered the possibility of dating someone before – with Octavia at home, and the pressure of keeping her secret so ever-present, he'd never been able figure out how he could manage it. But with Clarke, that obstacle isn't an issue – and he's not stupid; he knows that something has been building between him and Clarke, at least on his side, and he hopes on her side as well. He wonders, sometimes, if she would have looked at him if they'd hadn't been sharing this secret and forced to spend so much time together.

There's a chair, just inside his room, its small and hardly fits and is usually covered in clothes, but he drops into it and smiles as Clarke turns in her sleep. He takes the books she'd been reading, an encyclopedia of medicinal herbs, marks the page and sets it on the bedside table. About an hour later, the air duct bangs a little – it happens a lot, but it's loud. Clarke blinks her eyes heavily and sees Bellamy in the chair by the bed. She smiles, and remembers something that her father used to tell her, 'find someone who likes being around you enough that they want to do it even when your sleeping and boring and drooling a little'. "Bell," she says, her voice thick and heavy with sleep.

He smiles softly at her, "Hey Sleeping Beauty" he says, leaning forward to pull the blanket up around her a little farther. She smiles and reaches her hand out so her fingers wrap around his wrist, she pulls gently until he stands and moves to sit on the bed.

"What time is it?" she mumbles, still living in the world between sleep and wake.

"Late" he whispers, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "Go back to sleep".

She looks up at him, "Stay with me" and he looks at her for a long moment, hesitates a little, but then he scoots further onto the bed and lays down next to her. She pulls on the blanket until it covers them both. She rests her head on his chest and he slips his arm under her head and turns until they are facing each other and her head is tucked under his chin. She smiles and kisses his shoulder. "Your arm is going to fall asleep" she warns, voice heavy.

He laughs softly, "I'll risk it" he whispers, folding the arm under her head so that his fingers can disappear in her hair and running his other hand across her back in a slow repetitive motion until they both fall asleep.

Clarke wakes first, still facing Bellamy, their legs wrapped together and his breath brushing over her forehead. She leans back, just a little, just enough that she can look at him, and slowly moves her hand to his cheek. She trails her finger along his jaw and her thumb under his eye. He looks so much younger when he sleeps, and she can almost forget how much pressure he's under every day when he looks like this. She moves her fingers again, tracing the space between his freckles and smiling.

His arms tighten around her, and then relax before his eyes open. Her fingers still on his face, "I didn't mean to wake you" she whispers.

"it's okay" he whispers back. She flattens her fingers out on his face, cupping his cheek in her hand. She holds his gaze for a long moment before leaning up and kissing him. It starts soft, and slow but grows into something bigger. He surges up a little, and they move so she is lying on her back and he is hovering above her, his weight braced on his forearm above her head. His lips move from hers to trail lightly down her neck, and she hums softly before tilting her head to recapture his lips in hers.

When they pull back, he rests his forehead on hers and they both laugh lightly. It's their first real kiss, and the enormity of it threatens to swallow them whole. "So…that's nice" she whispers, her tone teasing and light, before leaning up to kiss him again.

He leans back for a moment, looking down to study her, before leaning forward and kissing her temple, then the tip of her nose, then her lips. "Clarke" he whispers, "Are you sure that this is a road that you want to go down?". Her eyes draw together in a question and he drops his forehead to her collar bone for a moment, before pulling it back up to look at her again, "I don't have anything to offer you, Clarke. This…this will be my whole life, for the rest of my life" he says, not quite meeting her eyes.

She presses her lips together and moves her hands so that she is holding face – one hand on each cheek. She waits until he looks at her and smiles softly at him, "this is all I want" she whispers. He closes his eyes against her idealism and she kisses him lightly before she speaks again, "You're kind, and protective, and you'll do anything for the people you care about and you are all I want"

He knows that this is a lager conversation that they'll probably have to have more than once, but he can't help it when his lips fall to hers again.

* * *

Bellamy is trying to read, having just gotten home from work and exhausted, but Octavia is full of energy and bouncing about all around him. He finally snaps at her to settle and she rolls her eyes, asking him what she's supposed to do in the apartment and he half shrugs, "You can do whatever the hell you want," then thinks better of it, "As long as you do it quite like". She rolls her eyes, but sits.

So, they are at the kitchen table, her sewing and him reading, when they hear it. Guards are banging on a door down the hall and yelling follows it. It doesn't sound like a random inspection – it sounds worse, so Bellamy hides Octavia under the floor and resituates the table until it looks right. Then, he opens his door to see if he can figure out what's going on – doors all along the hallway crack as others do the same. All at once he realizes that the pod they're in is Avery and Clarke's and all the air rushes out of his lungs. Avery is standing in the hallway, staring inside his home as guards rip it apart, a guard standing about a foot behind him, watching him.

He needs to know if Clarke is in there, or if this is his fault – if the guard somehow found out that she was hiding a girl. He makes eye contact with Avery – he does not know this man, has never spoken to him, and their only connection is Clarke, but that's not a small thing. Avery shakes his head, just once, to let him know that Clarke isn't there.

Clarke didn't tell Avery about his secret, but he does know that his pod is where she's been spending time lately – that had been impossible to hide from him. She had been coming over at least two days a week since her birthday and couldn't keep that from her roommate. She wanted to introduce them, something that he wasn't opposed to, but the timing had never worked out.

All the sudden the sound of boots hitting the floor, someone running, echoes in the hallway. He turns to see Clarke rounding the corner on the other side of the hall. Someone must have told her some version of what is going on, because her eyes are red-rimmed and she's moving as fast as she can. Bellamy looks back at Avery who is now staring at him with wide, desperate eyes, shaking his head when Bellamy looks at him.

Bellamy's hand reaches out as Clarke is running and instead of letting her pass like everyone else did, he pulls her to him. He grabs her wrist, then wraps an arm around her waist. She jerks in his arms, telling him to let her go and to get off of her. He calls her name until she looks up at him and nods towards Avery who she has some kind of silent conversation with, it ends with her pointing at his door and him nodding.

The door swings shut behind them and for a long moment Clarke is still and silent, and Bellamy just watches her. He brushed his fingertips against her arm, just above her elbow and it seems to break the spell. She turns to face him before she falls against him, her arms loosely circle his waist and she presses her cheek to his chest.

"Clarke" his voice breaks around her name and his arms circle her shoulders. After a few moments, she releases him and takes a half step back, rubbing at her eyes like she's ashamed by her tears. "Clarke" he whispers her name and she drops her hands, revealing red splotchy cheeks. He rests a hand on her hip and kisses her forehead.

All the sudden Clarke looks around, "Where's Octavia?" she asks, but it dawns on her before he has time to answer, "hiding" she whispers almost to herself.

"We didn't know what was going on" he explains.

She goes to the table, moving it and pulling up the floor, her tears starting anew. She's apologizing to Octavia from the moment she opens the hatch and Octavia looks over at her brother, confused. Bellamy shrugs helplessly.

Bellamy finally gets Clarke to come sit with him on the couch, and Octavia brings her a water. "It's not a random search" Clarke says, her eyes closed. "Avery's father was caught…" she glances over at Octavia and swallows, "he's going to be floated" she says instead of whatever she was going to say.

"What does that have to do with Avery?" Octavia asks quietly.

Clarke shakes her head, "Nothing" she sighs, "Avery didn't do anything, I'm not even sure what they're trying to find" she pulls in a deep breath, "but I do know that his father is a respected member of Alpha and Avery's seen as a traitor…" she trails off, like she's trying to work something out in her own mind.

"They're not going to find anything" Octavia says like she's sure.

Clarke scoffs, "Unless they put it there".

It's quiet for a long time, before Bellamy tilts his head towards his sister then nods back towards the bed rooms, asking her to give them some space. Octavia stands, kisses the top of Clarke's head, and disappears into Aurora's room, the door clicking shut behind her. It's quite after Octavia leaves, Bellamy scoots a little closer to Clarke and she leans her head against his shoulder, blowing out a long breath.

"He was caught with a girl…pulled her into a storage closet, but her dad came looking…" she trails off, pulls her hand across her eyes. "My mother was the one to tell me" she scoffs, "God…of all people…" she shakes her head a little. They both jump when they're a soft knock on the door.

Octavia comes out of Arura's room, ready to hide, but Clarke stops her, "It's just Avery. Go into one of the bedrooms, you'll be safe." Bellamy nods behind Clarke and Octavia hugs Clarke quickly before disappearing. Clarke opens the door, Bellamy standing just behind her, and breathes out Avery's name, launching herself at him. He wraps his arms around her, nodding at something she says that Bellamy can't quite hear.

Avery nods awkwardly at Bellamy, thanks him for taking care of Clarke, and Clarke hugs Bellamy before she disappears down the hall with Avery.

* * *

The next morning, Clarke and Avery walk to the airlock just outside the Prison Station, the hall is lined with guards and she sucks in a breath when she sees that Bellamy is one of them. She holds his gaze as she passes him and she and Avery come to a stop in front of Avery's father. Avery steps forward and speaks in hushed whispers to his father until Kane puts his hand on his shoulder and pulls him to airlock.

It's not how it was when Clarke's father was floated; he'd stood stoic and let it happen, not seeing the point in causing more chaos. Avery's father, by contrast, kicks and screams as guards pull him away, leaving him alone in the airlock. Jaha nods at the guard with his hand over the button and Clarke spins sharply, not able to will herself to watch. Her eyes find Bellamy's, and he hold her gaze, hoping that she knows that she is not alone.

* * *

That night, after Bellamy is sure that Avery has gone to work, he makes his way down the hall and stops in front of Avery's door. He knocks, but he doesn't hear any movement inside and the door doesn't open. He pulls his hand against the back of his neck and glances down the hall way in either direction. He's not sure if he should look for her or not; if he should wait for her to come to him. For a moment, he wonders if she blames him in some way, for being a part of the system that just seems to keep killing people.

He should go back home, but he needs to walk a little, clear his head, so he goes to the cafeteria and gets a water. He's heading down the hallway that will take him home when something occurs to him and he doubles back, going to opposite direction instead. He moves through the hallways until he gets to a narrow one, moves some stuff out of his way and keeps going, he makes it to where Polaris was meant to dock easily.

He stops at the opening to the room, Clarke is sitting against the large window, framed by the stars. She stares ahead with big unblinking, unseeing eyes and he wonders if he's intruding. He's come here a few times, since she showed it to him, times when he'd needed just a few minutes to be by himself, and he understands why she likes it so much. He closes his eyes and knocks against the open frame of the room in the same rhythm she knocks against his pod door when she visits.

She looks up, her watery eyes taking a moment to find his, but she doesn't speak. He's about to mumble an apology and leave her to her solitude when she smiles a little and breathes out his name. He half smiles and crosses the room to sit with her, when he sits their shoulders brush a little and she scoots about a half foot away. He freezes, wonders if he misread the situation and she wants to be alone after all, but she reaches out and tugs on his arm until he's lying down, his lead on her lap. He's looking up at her questioningly, so she smiles a little and nods out towards the star-filled sky, turns her head so she can look out too. He reaches out and takes her hand, rests it on his chest so that he can play with her fingers, he smiles a little when her other hand moves into his hair, pulling through it in a nice repetitive motion. "It's weird," she says still looking out "how something can be so beautiful and so scary all at once" she whispers, voice a little scratchy. He hums a little in agreement.

It's quiet for a log moment, he plays with her fingers while she plays with his hair. He's probably half asleep when she clears her throat softly, "When Avery's mom was sick, about a week before she died, she had one really good day" she says at barley above a whisper. "Avery and I were so small, I think we were naive enough to think it meant she'd get better, but looking back, I think she knew it was her last good day. Avery's dad brought fruit and we sat on the floor and ate while she sat up in her bed for the first time in weeks" she smiles a little at the memory. "Back then, no one thought Avery and I would stay close our whole lives, I mean – why would they? But his mom…" she trails off laughing lightly, "I don't know how, but she knew." He squeezes her fingers lightly and she smiles down at him. "I remember that day, she told us to take care of each other. Told us that we needed each other to balance one another out, she said -" she breaks off to pull in a deep breath, "She said that without me, Avery might never learn compassion and that without Avery I might never learn strength…that we were two sides of the same coin, and that we'd need those things from one another" she nods a little, a tear falling from her chin on to Bellamy's cheek. He reaches up to touch her cheek and she smiles, pulling her tear off his. "I think about that a lot" she says with a small shrug, "How we're different, but the same where it matters. How that lets us teach each other things" she whispers, and it's almost like she's talking to herself.

Bellamy holds her hand on his chest and reaches his other hand out to run along her leg, from her knee to her ankle and back again. It's quiet for a while, Clarke looks out at the stars like she caught in the stare while he looks up at her, watching her carefully. It's like that for so long, it almost startles him when she speaks again, "No one ever said it out loud, but I think my mom and Well's mom got pregnant at the same time so that Wells and I would get married". His hand stills on her leg for just a moment before resuming its pattern. She moves her hand through his hair, still looking outside, "But Wells and I were too similar, we had all the same background and all the same experiences. We couldn't help one another grow and we never had anything to offer each other" she shakes her head a little, "I mean, I love him, but I could never _love_ him"

She closes her eyes and tilts her head away from the window, when she opens her eyes again they meet his. "I know that you think I'm naive or idealistic or whatever, that I don't know what I'm getting into with you," he closes his eyes, leans his head back into her hand and smirks a little, he hadn't realized that this was where this was going. "And our lives are different, Bellamy, but I think that's a good thing. I think we're different enough to help each other grow, but we're the same too – where it matters" she's quiet when she finishes, nerves catching up to her.

"Clarke, I just don't want you to regret anything" Bellamy says, his voice just above a whisper.

She smiles a little, shakes her head, "Yeah" she pauses, "Me either". She swallows before she leans down to kiss him. The angle is awkward and it strains both of their necks, they both laugh into the kiss a little, passing their breath back and forth. Bellamy sits up, not breaking the contact, and presses into her. She makes a little sound in the back of her throat and he deepens the kiss, her head knocks back against the glass with a little thud and he pulls back a little, smiling when her lips chase his. He looks at her for a moment, lips red and swollen and pupils wide and watching him, stars dancing all around her. He smiles, cups his hand around the back of her head and kisses her again.

* * *

Full disclosure: The _two sides of the same coin_ thing comes from a television show called 'Jack And Bobby' (which is awesome) and I've just always loved it.

Please Review :-)


	8. Sickness

Chapter Eight: Sickness

"You have told me every secret that you have ever had since we were like ten years old, and I don't understand why you're not telling me this one" He's joking, but he's not.

This conversation has been a long time coming and Clarke had not been looking forward to it. They'd had smaller scale versions of this conversation many times in recent months, but now Clarke was on the couch and he was washing dishes and it seems that he is ready to really talk about when she's been spending all of her time.

"I mean," he continues, "It can't just be about you dating that guard. That wouldn't be a secret – I don't care who you date" he pauses, reconsiders, "I mean, I will have to actually meet him if you're going to date him – make sure he's good enough for you and all that, but you know…" he trails off, notices the pink that has taken up residence on Clarke's cheeks and tinged the tops of her ears, adopts a teasing sing-song voice, "Clarke and Bellamy sitting in a tree -" a pillow hits him in the face, he picks it up and tosses it back to her. "You guys are dating…right? I mean, you're like serious about him?" he asks, tone serious again.

Clarke tucks her hair behind her still pink ears, "Yeah. I'm serious" she nods.

"Is he?" Avery asks, drying the last dish and plopping on the couch next to her.

She's quiet for a moment, "I think so" she smiles, remembering his face when he worried that he had nothing to offer her, "Yes" she amends.

"Good" Avery answers. "So, what's going on then?"

She sighs, "You're right. We have told each other every secret we've ever had since we were ten years old. And I will tell you every secret I have for the rest of my life. But, this isn't my secret and I can't tell you" she finishes in a whisper, not quite meeting his eyes.

He's quiet for a long moment, "But you're okay, right? Like, whatever it is, it's safe?" he asks, voice low. Since his father was floated about a month ago, Clarke was the only family he had left.

She nods, not completely convincingly, "It's okay". He's not sure he believes her, but he lets her say it anyway.

The sound of frantic knocking on the door pulls them out of the conversation. Avery moves to open it, keeping himself between Clarke and the door, while she strains to see around him. When he opens the door, and its Bellamy on the other side, she pushes past Avery to stand in front of Bellamy, who looks at her with wide wild eyes, "I need your help".

She turns, promises that she'll talk to Avery later and follows Bellamy out, grabbing his wrist when Avery's door shuts behind her, making him spin and face her, "What is going on?" she asks.

"Octavia is sick" he says, already turning and going towards his pod. Octavia is lying on Aurora's bed, asleep but pale and sweating. "It happened so fast" he says quietly.

Clarke puts her hand on Octavia's forehead and winces. She had just seen Octavia the night before – it shouldn't be possible for her to have gotten this sick this quickly. Her eyes dart around, from Octavia on the bed, to Bellamy, to the things in this room. "Has she ever been sick like this before?"

"No" Bellamy breathes out in a frustrated sigh. They fuss over Octavia, getting blankets and water, Bellamy taking instructions from Clarke and keeping a close eye on his sister. Bellamy tells Clarke that he tried to go to his mother for help, but she had been unable to leave with him and told him to have O drink lots of water, probably hoping that Bellamy was exaggerating the illness.

Clarke glances at the clock and then at Bellamy, "You have to go to work" he looks at her like she's crazy and snaps a 'no way' back. "What are you going to tell them? Are you going to say you have to stay home and take care of your sister?" she sighs, walking over to him and laying her hand on his arm, which he shrugs off. She takes a half step back, reminding herself how worried he must be.

"I can't leave her" he voice is barely above a whisper and he doesn't take his eyes off of Octavia when he speaks.

"You can't say that you're sick, because they'll just send you to medical. I don't know what else you can do but go to work." She moves so she's standing between Bellamy and the bed Octavia is sleeping on, forcing him to look at her, "I will come and find you if anything changes, I swear" she says, pushing him a little. He just watches Octavia for a long moment, before pressing his lips together and closing his eyes. He nods a little in resignation.

"Yeah" he croaks out, then repeats it a bit more forcefully. His eyes flick between her and Octavia a few times, before he grabs his uniform and heads out.

When he comes home later, Octavia is still sleeping and looks exactly as she did nine hours ago. Clarke is in the kitchenette, washing a glass and he walks over to her after checking on Octavia, "No change?"

Clarke closes her eyes before she speaks, "I have to go to work" she says, not looking at him. She's late, but it had been easy for her to call the admittance clerk, who also does the schedules, and tell her that she had some stuff to do. She'd told Clarke to 'do her thing' and come in when they could, Clarke's vagueness not bothering her a bit.

His eyebrows draw together, "Are you okay?"

She nods, "Yeah – I've just, I've got to go". She finally opens her eyes, turns to face him, "Make sure she gets fluids, and if there is any change at all, make sure you come and get me – if you can't get to medical, tell Avery to come get me, he'll do it." she holds his gaze until he nods, then leaves before he can ask her anything.

She spends the first half of her shift in medical waiting to be alone. Octavia won't survive, not without antibiotics, and Clarke has to find a moment alone in an exam room to get them for her. It's not the first illegal thing she's done since meeting the Blake's, but it is by far the most illegal and the most dangerous – few things are as closely monitored on the Ark as drugs. It was why she didn't tell Bellamy what she was planning; a combination of giving him plausible deniability and not wanting to have to say her plan out loud. And, she hadn't wanted to watch him struggle with not wanting her to do something so crazy, but needing his sister to be alive.

Finally, _finally_ , as she is examining a small child with a cold, the doctor she is working with is called out of the room to consult on another case, and after Clarke takes care of the little boy and sends him out to his parents, she takes a deep, steadying, breath and moves to the medicine cabinet. She opens it, pulling out an empty syringe and filling it half way with saline, and the rest of the way with antibiotics from another syringe. She then replaces the antibiotics she just took from the prepared syringe with saline and looks at the syringes; both filled with a mix of saline and antibiotics. Saline is about the only thing that is easy to produce on the Ark, which is a shame because it's not good for a lot. When Clarke was first accepted into the medical apprenticeship program, she'd been terrified of giving injections, and her father had laughed and gotten a tube of saline from medical – letting her practice on him.

She stuffs one syringe in her pocket and the puts the other back on the tray of prepared syringes, in the back so it isn't likely to be used, and in a place, she'll remember so that she can use it on an appropriate case. She worries that it will be used on someone who desperately needs a full course of antibiotics and the half dose will be considered their medical allotment. But, she can't think about that, not now – though she's sure it will be all she can think about later, so she closes the door on the cabinet and sighs.

She jumps when Jonas, one of the doctors, opens the door. "Clarke, we've been looking for you, didn't your patient leave a while ago?"

She nods, "Yeah" and swallows, "Sorry, I just needed a moment" and hurries past him. The rest of her shift seems to drag on forever. She needs to get back, needs to not have this syringe in her pocket, needs to heal Octavia.

When her shift is finally over, she has to stop herself from running back to Factory. She passes Wells on her way and he asks her if she wants to get something to eat. She doesn't even really stop to answer him, just throws something about being tired over her shoulder as she keeps moving.

When she gets back to Bellamy's pod she knocks in a hurried rhythm and hears him shuffle to the door – she catches sights of someone else's blood on her wrist when she knocks. She knows she must look a mess – hair a sweaty mess and face unwashed, but she'd been too hurried to worry about that. He looks at her for a moment before opening the door enough for her to come through.

Octavia looks worse than before and Clarke turns to face Bellamy who looks like he's been hit by a truck. She holds his gaze when she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the syringe. His eyes widen and he takes a half step forward, "Clarke?" he somehow makes her name a question.

She pulls in a deep breath, "It's antibiotics. It's what she needs" she says, trying to be calm.

"Clarke, how did you…?" he rubs at the back of his head, "If anyone finds out…" he tries to wrap his head around half finished thoughts.

Clarke doesn't say anything…there's nothing to say, just walks past him and to Octavia. She pulls Octavia's arm to her and looks up at Bellamy for permission. He gives it with a nod of his head and she pushes the needle into Octavia's skin.

Bellamy drops into the chair he's pulled up to Octavia's bed and grabs his sister's hand, watching her face closely. Clarke blinks a few times and moves to leave the room, but Bellamy's hand reaches out and circles her wrist gently. She stops, leans against the side of the chair, "Clarke" his voice breaks around her name and she closes her eyes. He pulls her hand to his lips and kisses her palm softly, she sits in the empty space he's made on the chair.

Several hours later, Octavia blinks her eyes open and smiles a little. Bellamy's head is on the mattress, next to their joined hands, he doesn't quite look like he's asleep, but he doesn't look like he's awake either. Clarke is sitting on the floor by the foot of the bed, leaning against the wall. Her sketch book is in her hands, along with a pencil, but she doesn't look like she's drawing. Bellamy must notice a change in her breathing, or something, because all the sudden his head pops up and he's staring at her, "O" he whispers before hugging her.

Octavia laughs a little, lifting on hand to touch his back, horrified at the amount of energy it takes "Hey, big brother" she rasps, taking the glass of water he holds out when he pulls away. Clarke is standing next to the bed when she hands the water back to Bellamy and she checks Octavia over and smiles, saying that she should be fine soon. Octavia's a little surprised when Clarke says she has to go take of something, but nods when she promises to be back in a little while.

Bellamy tries to ask her questions, but Clarke just squeezes his arm and walks past him. She knows she has to get the used syringe to the sanitation bin before the morning. If they sanitize and return materials they will do inventory, and if they do that before she gets the syringe back, she's screwed.

She breezes in to medical, trying to move as quickly as possible, "Clarke, sweetie, you know you don't have to make up your hours from earlier – go home." the admittance clerk says, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation.

"Yeah, I just forgot something earlier" she says with a shrug and a forced smile.

She goes to the medical room that she took the syringe from and drops it in the sanitation box with a heavy sigh of relief. But then the door opens behind her and her mother walks in, prepared to put a box of materials away until she sees Clarke. Clarke sighs and turns to face her mother who asks what she is doing there.

"I uh," she stumbles over her words, glancing around the room. "I just thought I left something in here earlier…but I guess not"

Abby's eyes narrow, "What did you forget?"

Clarke swallows, "my, uh, my sketch book" she feels like she is going to throw up and she has to force herself to keep breathing, to look normal.

"You really shouldn't be sketching at work, Clarke" Clarke wants to laugh or to cry but only nods instead, "Even in break" her mom adds, probably thinking that Clarke's face was indignation and not relief.

"Yeah, you're right, mom" she says, forces a smile that can't possibly look like anything but a grimace and nods towards the door, "I gotta go – Avery is waiting on me for dinner" she says, pointing absently at the door behind her mother, she can feel herself cracking and needs an escape. Abby nods, tells her to be careful and lets her pass. Clarke forces herself to walk at a normal pace.

She walks back to factory in a daze. To catch her now, to prove it, they'd have to check every prepared syringe in the medical room – and that isn't likely. They've done it before, during intensive inventories, but mostly only when there has been cause, a suspicion, and she doesn't think there is that now. She takes a few deep steadying breathes before knocking on Bellamy's door in a familiar rhythm.

Bellamy lets her in, but stops her in the kitchen, holding her face between his hands. "Bell" she whispers, bringing her hands up to grip his wrists. She lets out a long breath and lets her weight fall against him a little before straightening. "I should check on -"

"She's in the shower" he cuts her off, holding her in place. "Clarke, how did you…?" his voice is barley a whisper and she closes her eyes against the question. "Clarke," he starts again, but she shakes her head a tiny bit – he feels it more than sees it, and he closes his eyes too. They stay there like that for a moment before he speaks again, "Clarke, anything could have happened" he leaves off that it's still possible that anything could happen. She sighs a little and his hands slip from her cheeks, through her hair and around her, pulling her to him.

She clutches at him, one hand tangling in his shirt at his back and the other gripping his shoulder. "I didn't know what else to do" she mumbles around unshed tears. He pulls her closer, cupping the back of her head with one hand, his other around her waist. He whispers a 'thank you, Clarke' in her ear, his voice breaking around her name.

They hear the shower shut off and Bellamy presses his face into the side of her neck before they pull back. He takes her hands as their arms drop and his eyes bore into hers intently. She's about to ask him what's wrong when he speaks, "I love you" he breathes out and her breath catches in her throat.

Octavia comes out of the bathroom in clean clothes, already looking a lot better. But, she's still weak and coughing with each breath. Clarke and Bellamy share another look before they go to help Octavia. They help her sit on the couch and then Clarke goes to the kitchenette to get her crackers and some water while Bellamy sits with his sister.

Octavia tries to eat a little, but they mostly just sit; Octavia leaning against Bellamy on the couch and Clarke sitting across from them on the chair. Bellamy and Octavia fall asleep after just a few minutes and Clarke smiles, standing to grab a blanket to drape over them, then going to the bed room to grab her sketch book. She sits back down in the chair and starts drawing the siblings.

Octavia is the first to blink her eyes open, and she watches Clarke for the minute or so it takes her to realize it. "Hey" Clarke whispers when she sees Octavia watching her.

"Hey" Octavia returns, quietly, as not to wake Bellamy. Clarke turns the mostly-done charcoal of Octavia sleeping against Bellamy around, so that Octavia can see it. "That's amazing" she breathes out, smiles when Clarke blushes.

"How are you feeling?" Clarke askes, scooting to the edge of the chair.

"Okay" Octavia nods a little, "Better". She doesn't feel good, but she doesn't feel like she's dying anymore either. It doesn't hurt to breath like it did before, so she thinks she is probably going to be okay. "Thank you – I don't know exactly what you did, or how, but thank you" Octavia adds, pulling her legs up and folding them against herself, all the sudden worried that Clarke might have done something dangerous for her.

Clarke smiles, but shakes her head, "I didn't really do anything". Octavia rolls her eyes in obvious disbelief.

* * *

A week later, Octavia is pretty much back to her normal self, completely cured of the illness that was so terrifying just a handful of days ago. Despite Clarke spending virtually of her non-working time with the Blake's she hasn't had any time alone with Bellamy since he told her that he loved her. She hates that she didn't say anything in return, she hadn't meant to freeze up the way she did – and then the chance to say something…anything…was gone.

She round the hallway corner and knocks on the pod door, the rhythm quiet – they're expecting her. Bellamy opens the door, but his wild curly hair is the first thing she sees; he's turned around, nodding at something she can't see – Octavia, probably – and when he turns to face her, his eyes are light and full of laughter. It's the first time she's seen that since Octavia got sick. She smiles, starts to walk inside, but changes her mind. She grabs his wrist instead, yells that they'll be back and pulls him into the hallway and down to Avery's pod. She turns the key and slams against the door to open it and rolls her eyes when he chuckles.

Bellamy comes in behind her, looking at her questioningly. She shuts the door and his eyes start to flick around the common room, she watches him. There are holes in about half the cabinets and things hang off the wall in haphazard fashion. She looks down a little, and when she looks up he's touching a picture that hangs on the wall, rubbing the edge between his fingers; it's a collage of her and Avery – they oldest picture taken when they were about four and the most recent less than a year ago – they add to it when they can. He laughs at one of her in a wizard costume, pointing to it and looking back at her.

"Shut Up, I was like twelve" she says before laughing and dunking her head. "Avery's at work" she explains unnecessarily.

He nods a little and circles back to the middle of the room, where Clarke is standing. "Clarke, What's -"

"I love you" she cuts him off. He's quiet and still for a moment and she starts to panic. Did he change his mind, did he not mean it before, did his sleep-deprived and terrified-about-Octavia brain make him say something that he didn't really intend to say?

She's panicking when his lips crash down on hers. He pulls her to him tightly, tangling a hand in her hair the other arm around her waist, hand splaying over hip. She squeals a little in surprise before she returns his kiss in earnest, winding her arms around his neck. When oxygen deprivation becomes a concern, they pull back, him resting his forehead on hers, both breathing heavy.

She breathes out a laugh, "I've been wanting to say that".

His head dips to kiss her again. Except Octavia and his mother, no one has ever told him that they loved him. He's never really felt like he deserved that from anyone, that he would ever have that. It feels so surreal to him that this beautiful, intelligent, brave girl would ever love someone like him. "I love you, too" he mumbles against her lips as they pull apart again. When his eyes find hers again, he finds unshed tears gathering there and pressed his lips to her temple firmly.

* * *

Six days later, Bellamy and Clarke walk into the Factory Cafeteria and go through the line to get meals, after they have them her eyes scan the people sitting and eating and finally find Avery. She smiles, heading that direction, Bellamy following behind her. They sit across from Avery and Clarke is the first to speak, "So…Bellamy, Avery. Avery, Bellamy" she points between them and laughs after. They shake hands across the table.

Avery leans in to the table a little, "So, do you want to hear about the time she almost broke her arm because I was this close to convincing her she could fly," he holds his pointer finger and his thumb about an eighth of an inch apart, "or the time I convinced her that her pod was haunted?" Bellamy laughs.

Clarke kicks Avery under the table, hard. "If you have any sense of self-preservation, you will not continue down that path". The laughter in her voice under-cuts her threat.

They talk easily, filling the meal with conversation. After a while, Bellamy glances at the clock, "I gotta go" he says, kissing Clarke lightly before he stands, "I have work" he explains. He and Avery exchange 'nice to meet you's' before Bellamy leaves.

Once Bellamy is out of earshot, Clarke turns to Avery and raises her eyebrows in a question. He nods, "Yeah, he seems alright"

"A ringing endorsement" Clarke says sarcastically.

"No, no, I like him" Avery assures her, "I can't believe you just met him in our hallway. It's like one of your chick flicks" he teases.

She laughs, rolls her eyes, wishes that she could tell him the whole truth. They stand to leave, gathering their trash and taking it the bin. When Clarke turns, there is a boy, a little older than her, blocking her path. She smiles, tries to move around him, but he pushes her back against the wall, her hand cuts on a piece of metal and she yelps a little. That's when Avery notices and doubles back to her.

"Your mother's council voted to float my mother" the guy is saying and Avery reaches out his hand, trying to move between the guy and Clarke, but the guy pushes Avery and he stumbles before coming back.

"You haven't done anything that can't be undone yet" Avery says, finally able to squeeze between Clarke and the guy he doesn't recognize, "the smart play here is to walk away". The guy turns, like that's what he's going to do, but he spins on his heels at the last moment, punches Avery, then turns to walk away. A guard has him before he's at the next table. Avery spins, grabs Clarke's hand, "You have to go to medical".

"It's fine" she answers. There are tears pooling in her eyes that Avery knows have nothing to do with the cut on her hand. Avery brushes off the guards who want to ask them questions and pulls her back to their pod. "I think I just forget sometimes, how much people hate me because of who my mother is. That no matter how long I live here, I don't belong here" she explains while he wraps her hand.

"You belong here" he promises. She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything.

Bellamy must hear about what happened, because a few hours later he's knocking on their door. Avery opens it and points him to the couch where Clarke has fallen asleep. He thanks Avery and walks over there, dropping to his knees on the floor in front of Clarke and tucking her hair behind her ear. He doesn't want to wake her, but he has to know that she's okay, so he lets his hand cup the back of her head as her name tumbles from his lips. Her eyes blink open and she smiles, "Bell. What are you doing here?" she asks, voice heavy with sleep.

"I heard about what happened, in the cafeteria" he tells her, looking at her wrapped hand.

She smiles sadly, "I'm okay" she promises.

"I wasn't really that worried" he teases, his voice a forced mock indifferent, "I just thought I'd check". She laughs, so he does too. She scoots over on the couch and he lies down with her, pulling her body close to his. He doesn't say anything when she cries softly.

* * *

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	9. Cataclysm

Chapter Nine: Cataclysm

She unlocks the door to Bellamy's pod quietly – he'd given her a key so that she could come and go when he wasn't there. She sets her bag down on the coffee table and tip-toes to Bellamy's room. It's the middle of the night, but she has just gotten off of work. He's sleeping soundly in the middle of the bed, so she changes into one of his shirts and a pair of his shorts and slips in next to him. He wakes up just enough to mumble "Hey, babe" and wrap his arm around her. By the time she settles in, they're both sound asleep.

Bellamy blinks his eyes open in the morning and smiles at the back of Clarke's head. Her back is pressed against his chest and they're tangled together from their fingers, all the way down to their legs. He smiles, content to lay there until she wakes up. It's another hour or so until Clarke blinks herself awake, turning in his arms and kissing him quickly. "Have you been awake long?"

"Not very" Bellamy says, bending his neck to kiss her again. She smiles into the kiss, running her hand down his back and under his shirt. He hums into her mouth, his fingers finding the exposed expanse of skin between her shirt and shorts. Her hand gets tangled in his shirt and she laughs into his mouth before tugging it up his body, pushing him back just enough to pull it off of him before they fall back together.

The rest of their clothes fall away soon after. It's not the first time they've had sex, but they're still new enough at each other's bodies that it's all still a discovery. They take their time, exploring each other gently and letting their hands wander.

After, she settles against him, her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat while he cards his fingers through her hair. She's half way to back asleep when his chest rumbles and his voice fills the room, "I have work soon".

"Noooo" she whines, dragging the word out and snuggling closer to him. He lets out an easy chuckle and the noise makes her so happy she leans into her arm and props herself up to kiss him. He returns it easily, and she thinks, for the first time in her life, that she found where she wants to spend the rest of her life.

After a while, they get out of bed and redress, joining Octavia in the common room. She's eating an apple that Clarke brought after work the night before and she tosses Bellamy an orange when she sees him, smiling at the pair. Bellamy eats about half the orange before handing the rest to Clarke. "I gotta go". He kisses the top of Octavia's head and then kisses Clarke, waves a little as he walks out.

Clarke and Octavia play chess for a while before Clarke has to go home to Alpha and do some laundry, "I'll see you later, though." Bellamy has promised to cook dinner tonight, and as much as she teased him, he wasn't bad at it. "It's my last day on night-shift, so the schedule will be more normal soon" she reminds Octavia who smiles in return. As a part of medical training, they all had to spend a fortnight on night-shift, it wasn't bad except that her and Bellamy kept missing each other and it was a horrible schedule to keep. Clarke wanted to stay with Octavia, but an accident the night before had left her scrubs stained and disgusting.

* * *

She gets to Alpha and opens the door quietly, "Anyone here" she calls out and does an internal happy dance when silence greets her. She washes her scrubs and hangs them on the line, then turns to grab a hair tie off the cabinet next to her. But she bumps into the cabinet instead, looks at the forming bruise on her arm and scowls before realizing that she's knocked the hair tie behind it and to the floor. She reaches blindly behind it, the tips of her fingers grazing the worn carpet until they connect with something. What she pulls up isn't a hair tie though, it's a memory drive, it looks like it might be a home movie.

She plugs it in and she's not sure what she's expecting to see; the time her, Wells, and Avery did the Unity Day play maybe, or when she learned the periodic elements and her dad tapped her saying them in sequence, but whatever she was expecting did not prepare her for her father's face filling the screen and telling her that the Ark is running out of air. She checks the date on the video and realizes that this was the reason he was floated. All that time spent wondering and searching for answers, and the truth was behind a cabinet in the common room the whole time. She's practically hyperventilating when she plays it again, doesn't notice the door open and then inch closed behind her.

She thinks about how she's always cold when she's on the other stations, always needing a sweater that she sheds on Alpha. Avery always thought they pumped less oxygen onto the lower stations, she'd called him a conspiracy nut and rolled her eyes, but she feels silly for not believing him now. He'd always believed that they did it to keep the working class weak and exhausted and unable to rise up, but now she understands that they did it because the air is running out.

It's a while before she gathers herself, she takes deep steadying breaths and wipes crocodile tears off her cheeks. She has to tell someone…has to tell everyone, wants to start with Avery and Bellamy. She shoves the drive into her pocket and yanks the door to the pod open, stumbles backwards when her mother, Jaha, Kane, Shumway, and two guards she doesn't know are standing there.

Her mother tells her that she has to come with them, that it's for her safety, that she _loves_ her. Clarke wants to throw up, or hit someone, and when it's clear that she won't just follow them, the guards grab her arms and drag her. She yells 'there is no air' at everyone they pass and kicks her feet but in the end, it doesn't matter, they push her into a cell on the Skybox while her mother tells her that it's for her own good.

* * *

Bellamy hears about what happened later that day (The Council does not release details, just tells those who ask that she has been imprisoned) and rushes to the Skybox. They won't let him see her though, not even when he shoves his credentials in their face. Bellamy has to go home and tell Octavia what happened that night, admit that he has no idea what is really going on, while she cries next to the ingredients for the dinner that he was going to make. He holds her on the floor while she cries, and she doesn't say anything when he pulls thick tears from his own cheeks.

Bellamy tries four more times to see her, or even just get information about what happened, over a two-week span before desperation leads him to knock on Avery's door. Avery opens it and steps aside, looks like he's been expecting him. Avery looks bad – sleep deprived and angry with red rimmed eyes. "I don't know anything either" Avery tells him as Bellamy hears the pod door click shut behind him. "I've talked to everyone I can think of – Wells has no idea what happened, and her mother knows but won't say anything" Avery hits the wall, "I can't…she's in solitary, they won't let anyone see her" he finishes in a low, angry voice.

* * *

Nine weeks later, there is a malfunction in one of the oxygen scrubbers. They're going to have to shut it down to repair it, so everyone in Factory has been told to sleep in the Hydra cafeteria. It's inconvenient for most, it's catastrophic for Bellamy and Octavia. Bellamy goes to his mother, begs her for help – and she tries, in the only way she knows how, begging the guard she sleeps with and offering herself to him, but in the end, she says she doesn't know what to. Bellamy doesn't know what to do either – doesn't know how to keep Octavia both alive and hidden and doesn't have anyone to turn to.

In the end, the knowledge that Clarke trusted him is what leads him to knock on Avery's door. Avery steps aside to let him in, but Bellamy asks him to follow instead. When Bellamy opens the door to his pod and lets Avery walk inside, Octavia is sitting in the middle of the room. Avery's eyes flick between Bellamy and Octavia a few times before he starts to laugh, "Yeah, that makes sense" he says when he catches his breath. Then he introduces himself to Octavia. Bellamy thinks maybe they should have told him all along.

Avery doesn't have any contacts on Alpha that might help them – what Bellamy had been hoping for, but he knows a guy on Agro who is good with computers and owes him a favor. He leaves and returns a few hours later with an ID card and no idea if it'll hold up. But they don't have a lot of options – he can't let his sister suffocate under the floor in their pod. So, they drape Octavia in blankets and sandwich her between them for the walk.

When her ID scans and she is let through, Bellamy thinks he might sob with relief. The three of them find a spot in the corner to claim and sit down. Bellamy goes to get them something to eat and they talk while they share the meal. It doesn't take long for conversation to move to Clarke and Octavia's eyes are glassy when she's asks quietly if they think she's okay. Avery and Bellamy share a look, then Avery puts a comforting hand on Octavia's knee, "I think she misses you, but I think she's fine.".

They talk for a while longer, getting increasingly tired, when all the sudden Octavia is being pulled up by her elbow. Bellamy and Avery scramble up to see Shumway staring at Octavia. "Who are you?" he asks, scanning her badge. She stammers out her name, giving the fake last name on the badge, and leans away from the man.

"Leave her alone" Avery says while Bellamy moves to stand between his sister and Shumway who looks at them for a long moment before pulling out his tablet.

It all unravels pretty quickly after that.

It doesn't take long for Shumway to realize that Octavia Williams does not exist and from there he figures out the sibling thing pretty fast. Bellamy begs him to stop, to let them go, swears he'll do anything for Octavia's freedom, even float – and means it. But Shumway is not compelled, so Bellamy takes a swing, wants to fight their way out, but he's hit with an electric shock before he can move and everything goes black.

He wakes up in the Skybox. He's told the council is deliberating his fate. They let him out just long enough to watch his mother float. She's walked to the airlock by the very guard who she was sleeping with to keep their secret – he has to protect himself now, and he does it at Aurora's expense. He hugs his mother, whispers an apology in her ear, and then watches her get sucked into space. Wonders when that will be him. He's glad Octavia's not there to see it.

Four days later he's brought in front of the council. They're not going to float him, but they are going to strip him of his status – he can't be trusted to uphold the law when he let his mother break it, after all. They only give him five minutes to say goodbye to Octavia. He begs them to let them trade places, but they insist that she'll stay in lock up until she turns eighteen and then get a review, like everyone else who breaks the law. He tried to argue that she didn't break the law, was just born into it, but nothing he says matters anymore.

He holds Octavia to him, tells her that it'll be okay. That she's stronger than she thinks. That she should behave, do what they tell her and they'll let her go when she's eighteen. That if she can get through this now, she'll be able to have a real life later, one that doesn't include cut outs under the floor boards and hiding in the shadows. He prays he's not lying to her.

* * *

He's given a new job assignment in sanitation and sees Avery there on his first day. They'd taken away his maintenance job too and Bellamy feels like shit for dragging him into this. Avery shrugs off his apology though, "I'm glad we tried – it's what Clarke would have told us to do…well, she might have had a better plan". They both chuckle, with no real humor behind it.

When things go to hell, Bellamy thinks, they go quickly. Less than three months ago, his life was almost perfect. He hated that his sister was always stuck inside, but at least she was alive and thriving, he was with a woman that he loved, in a job that he thought would keep them safe. And now he had nothing. He didn't understand how things could change so quickly.

He only sees his sister once a month for too many months – prison visitation only occurring that often. Sometimes Avery comes with him and it's almost like having Clarke's voice in the conversation. They always try to see Clarke, are never let to.

* * *

Clarke hears someone say that they're opening the dropship door downstairs and yells that the air might be toxic. She hears a voice yell back that if the air is toxic, they're all dead anyway. And while that's not all together untrue, it is a little short sighted. She's been in solitary lock up for too long for the crash landing to be the only thing she experiences before she dies.

She climbs the ladder and sees two people embracing by the door – she thinks it's a couple, people meeting in the Skybox and falling into 'love' wasn't uncommon, there wasn't a lot of entertainment there. But they pull back and she catches sight of his wild curly hair and she feels like she's been sucker punched – all of the air leaving her lungs at once and she breaths out his name.

Octavia sees her first, throws her arms around her and jumps up and down a little, pulling her forward to where Bellamy is frozen into his spot, looking how she feels. When Octavia lets her go, Bellamy reaches out a hand and trails it along her hip lightly before grasping it, wanting to make sure she is real and in front of him. His lips crash onto hers a moment later and her tears hit his cheeks.

When Octavia pulls the lever that will open the drop ship doors and lets her feet be the first to hit Earth soil in 100 years and lets out an excited whoop before "We're back, bitches" Clarke laughs into Bellamy's mouth as the rest of the occupants of the drop ship funnel out around them.

They both have a million questions and a million things they want to say. But that can wait, for now Bellamy mumbles 'I love you' against her lips as they pull apart, smiles when she says it back, then holds out his hand. She takes it and they walk on the Earth for the first time together. Octavia comes and stands with them, and Bellamy can't describe his happiness.

* * *

So, even though I wrote this a while ago, I've been putting off posting it as I don't feel quite as 'done' with this universe as I thought I would when I got to this point. I might go back and add some short 'in between' chapters with moments that I wanted to put on originally but couldn't find a good place for.

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